


The Iron Chain Game

by Tea_Queen_2112



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Awkward Dates, Branding, Explicit Sexual Content, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Kidnapping, Knifeplay, M/M, Modern AU, Plot Twists, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychological Torture, Ramsay is his own warning, Rape Recovery, Robb being the best boyfriend, Theon being brave, Therapy, Thramsay - Freeform, Torture, Wedding Fluff, throbb - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-16
Updated: 2017-09-30
Packaged: 2018-09-24 20:01:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 28
Words: 125,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9783677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tea_Queen_2112/pseuds/Tea_Queen_2112
Summary: Life is nothing but a series of games to Ramsay Bolten and his newest player just walked through the bar door. Upset after having gotten into a fight with his boyfriend Theon Greyjoy goes for a drink, only he chose the wrong bar to walk into to.





	1. The Fighting Game

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Game of thrones or any of the characters involved. Just in case. Future chapters will be longer than this one. This fic is in the process of being Beta read and made totally better by Maddoxygen. Huge thanks to them and lots of hugs. 
> 
> Theon and Robb fight over a big decision.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robb and Theon getting into a couples argument.

Buying a house is never easy. Yet most people would not compare such a major decision with something as trivial as a board game. Nevertheless, in this instance it was like an intense game of Monopoly. Robb and Theon were doing nothing but fighting over which property they should buy. Both were standing their ground on the issue and arguing for the property that they preferred.

Unfortunately, this was not a board game, nor could it be solved with ease. This was their life now. It was near midnight and everyone else in their apartment building were sleeping, yet they were up and at it. Yelling and shouting at each other, unhindered by the thought of their neighbours hearing. Robb was grateful for the thickness of the walls, perhaps it would serve as a small reprieve and they would have some peace. Theon ran a hand through his long hair as he tried to calm himself while Robb was giving him a piece of his mind. He was dripping with sweat; all this stress and conflict would kill him some day.

"Theon! Gods, you're such an idiot," Robb threw a small stack of paper at him. Theon dodged by a hair. He stood up to his full length and drew closer to Robb. Theon was in Robb's face now and raised his voice. He knew Robb was not going to hurt him; it was just his way of intimidating Theon. The Stark way, of course, that Robb learned from his father. Then again, Theon's Greyjoy side was screaming, no, dying for him to get violent, just so he could get the upper hand. Of course Theon would never strike Robb, he wasn't like that, but he wasn't about to let himself be walked all over like a store-bought carpet.

"I'm not the idiot here! You're the one being a stubborn cunt," he retorted with ironborn intensity, telling Robb what he believed to be the truth. He was sick of Robb and his attitude towards all of it. It was just a goddamned house and it didn't have to be so difficult to make a decision. Theon was a simple man and he thought that there was no need to talk about something like this. They should have ended the argument then and there.

Theon assumed that it was due to his job that Robb was angrier then he should have been. Manipulating criminals with his words was his expertise. He was as a police officer, just like his father had been and he was working his way up to a promotion and possibly becoming the commissioner. Theon, on the other hand, worked at his father's company Ironborn Ships, selling boats and other types of ship materials. He didn't exactly enjoy it, but urban setting of the shop he worked in guaranteed him a decent wage. Both Theon and Robb's families had been working in their respective fields for generations and neither one were about to give up their profession of choice. It had barely been a week since the discussion of which house to buy began. Yet they were already having heated arguments about it. Robb wanted something near his family, who lived just outside of town, while Theon wanted something downtown so that they lived close to his job. It's clear that great minds don't always think alike.

"The one you want is too fucking expensive. Why can't you get it through that thick head of yours?" Theon snapped while looking at the folder that Robb had compiled. While it did look like something out of a home comfort magazine, it cost 6200 golden dragons. Only a Lannister could afford it and not have to worry about being in debt. "It has three bedrooms. For fucks sake, Robb, we just need one."

"But it's still better. I don't want to live in a traffic-heavy area. Since I'm working such long hours, I don't want to have my sleep disturbed." Theon understood that it was important that Robb got his sleep in order for him to be the best officer that he could. Theon still thought the townhouse was much nicer. Even though it didn't come cheap, it was still within their price range. It may not have been perfect, but it was the better of the two.

"We have a fucking budget, Robb. If we buy that one we'll have to ask Cat for help and I don't like asking for her charity. You know how she feels about me," his eyes glanced to the side, to where a framed photo of the Stark family stood. Everyone but Ned was in it, smiling at the camera. For a moment, Theon was tempted to bring up Ned Stark. But he knew that if he brought out the 'dead father' card, there'd be no going back. He knew just as well that Robb would never let it go and would use it against him in all fights yet to come. Theon understood that it had been difficult for Robb to move away from his family. But he still thought that Robb was overreacting. They would only live a two hour drive away, so they could still visit. Sure, family was important to Robb. But what about Theon's family? If they went with Robb's idea, then Theon would be more or less completely isolated from his family. Except maybe his uncle but to be honest Theon didn't really care about Euron.

"I know she hasn't… taken to you yet, but I'm sure that if I ask for her help she will see how happy you make me," Robb said in an attempt to defuse the situation. But clearly talking about his mother only served to further Theon's annoyance. Catelyn's relationship with Theon was like the one she had with Jon. Her late husband had lied to her and it took 20 years before she was told the truth. Even knowing that Ned never had an affair and that Jon was actually her nephew, she still wasn't exactly fond of him.

"Cat will never like me. I've tried everything and she still doesn't care for me," he complained. Theon had honestly done his best to get her approval, but it was obvious she would never like him. They didn't get along and he didn't understand why Robb couldn't see that. He had tried so hard to make their relationship work but they were like chalk and cheese. Never going to happen. He stormed off into the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water. His throat needed soothing due to their discussion. Theon drank greedily, not caring that he spilled it on himself. When he looked up he saw that Robb had followed him there.

"Well, maybe she would like you better if you stopped being so difficult half the time. Then maybe she'd be able trust you," Robb knew his mother was harsh on Theon, but she had her reasons. The Greyjoys had worked for the Lannisters in the past, and the proud family of lions were directly involved in Ned's murder. Even though it was Euron who was working for the Lannisters and not his nephew, Catelyn still linked the two in one whole pile of evil. She swore that, no matter what, she would get them for what they did. Even if she had to resort to killing them in their sleep. Catelyn was sure that it would be worth it.

"She doesn't trust my dad or uncle and therefore she hates me by default," Theon spat bitterly. He really did want to be a part of the Stark family. But it seemed like that was not going to happen in the near future. Balon Greyjoy was a complete and utter arsehole. Everyone in the Seven Kingdoms knew it, everyone except Balon himself. Theon could still feel the bruises from his childhood tingling beneath his skin. He had tried to deny it for as long as he could, but in time reality came crashing down on him. Theon feared that he was just like his father and that he would end up the same way. Alone. Pushing away his lovers and becoming the king of his own lonely kingdom.

"Remember the time you were meant to look after the house and we were robbed? You were absolutely useless." If there was one thing Theon hated, it was being reminded of his past mistakes. He remembered the day that Catelyn Stark lost the small amount of trust in him she had. He had accidentally left the door unlocked and some thieves stole some of their most valued possessions, including Ned Stark's Officer of the Year award. Luckily, they were able to get everything back, yet Cat had never forgiven him for it. She despised him ever since.

Theon's facial expression changed from burning anger into true hurt in a matter of milliseconds. Various bad memories were beginning to cloud Theon's mind. He realised that there was no way he'd be able to take any more of it. If there was one thing Theon didn't handle well it was stress. "I'm going for a drink," he said not even looking at Robb as his voice cracked. Robb knew that Theon was near tears and he realized that he had probably crossed a line he shouldn't have. Robb tried to grab his arm, but Theon was quicker and moved it away from him. Robb knew, from the look in his eyes, that he was hurt. Theon reacted differently to different kinds of pain, but this had reminded him of his childhood. Robb had likened his fiancé to his father, the horrible man who had verbally diminished Theon into an anxiety riddle who was barely functioning as an adult.

"Theon! Wait," he shouted but Theon just brushed past him in order to get his things. Theon didn't even bother getting a jacket, he was too mad to even consider it. His rage and pain blinding him to everything but the door. He just needed to get away from it all. He hurriedly looked around for his wallet and then he left; slamming the door hard behind him, possibly waking the entire building. The thud of the wood hitting the frame brought Robb back to reality. Back to what he had done. Robb was alone and he felt like shit. It felt as if the guilt had punched him right in the gut. The bitter taste of shame lingered, he could not rid himself of it. His body felt heavy and numb as he dragged himself into the living room and onto the sofa. Robb tried to think of a way to make it up to Theon, when he got back. Perhaps some heart-shaped toast would be enough to fix the rift he had caused.

Robb covered his face with his hands and tried to clear his head. It had never gotten that heated between them and he didn't know what to do now. His plan was to make it all better in the morning. Little did Robb know that was the last time he'd see his beloved Theon for a very long time. Except for in tabloids, newspaper articles and 'missing person' flyers. Theon waited until he was in the car before he let the wall which protected his emotions crumble down and into pieces. He couldn't stop it and the waterworks began, tears rushing down his face. Before he drove away he allowed his nails to dig into the steering wheel of their car, to work out frustrations. He didn't allow Robb to see him break down, in order to then give Theon false sympathies. His tears were salty but Theon was used to it due the taste. He'd grown up by the sea and he had cried often from when Balon had smacked him around.

Theon fumbled around for just a moment and grabbed a couple of spare, partially used, tissues from the glove compartment. He wiped his face sloppily, so he at least didn't look like a complete disaster. Theon checked his reflection in the small car mirror and found that he looked like a hot mess. He was trying to think of what to do next. Theon wiped his face again and then took a breath to try and regain his composure. He had experienced a lot of stressful nights, but this one took the cake. He needed to relax and Theon had always relied on alcohol in order to do so. Sweet, fruity and absolutely delicious alcohol.

If he did get shitfaced, which Theon knew he would, he could always crash at Yara's place. It wasn't too far to walk and she lived in a neighbourhood where it was unlikely he would be jumped while drunk. It was such a shame that his drink order that night would be a little bit saltier than normal. A little bit fruitier and a little bit more drugged. Theon was wrong, it wasn't his most stressful night. Not yet. Alcohol might have dulled the pain, but he would soon learn what real pain felt like. Every kind of pain imaginable, as well as those beyond anyone's worst nightmare. No amount of vodka would allow him to forget it.

That's when Ramsay Bolton walked into his life.


	2. The Drinking Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theon goes out for a drink and has an unfortunate run in with Ramsay.

Theon’s night was like a game of suspicion. He kept on noticing all kinds of shifty people in the poor lit bar. He hadn’t been to this place before but he didn’t want Robb to come looking for him in his usual spot so a secluded bar was his best option. The smell of smoke was coming from the general bar area so Theon tried to take a place as far away as he could.

There weren’t that many people in the pub but the ones who were here seemed like they either wanted to murder him or mug him. Either way Theon just wanted to get a drink and go somewhere else. Probably to Yara’s place. 

He was thinking over the argument and he was mentally cringing at himself. He couldn’t believe that had happened. The worst part was that he wasn’t sure who the bad guy was. Robb had been the one yelling violently but Theon knew himself that he could be a total dick and not realise it. Theon feared he might have said something personal and he didn’t know it. He rubbed a hand though his hair and tried to stop himself from freaking out in a public area. 

“Hey, you look like you need a drink.” Theon looked around for the source of the voice and when he turned around a pair of blue eyes and black curly hair greeted him. Theon was almost sure he recognised him but he couldn’t place where it was. Out of everyone there he seemed the friendliest. The stranger also had a weird voice but Theon was willing to give him a chance and besides if he was sitting with someone one of the other drunken weirdos might leave him alone. 

“Yeah, I could actually.” He admitted and the guy smirked. He had no idea what Theon was doing in a place like this but then again he wasn’t going to question it. It wasn’t often that he got an opportunity where his precious Theon was away from the eldest Stark. 

The man sat down on the chair facing him and got comfortable. Theon did think he was cute when he was able to get a closer look at his face. He kind of had a young boyish charm about him but he seemed like a rebel, something Theon liked very much. He bit his lip as he remembered that he was already in a relationship, soon to be married. He wouldn’t cheat on Robb for revenge, he wasn’t that petty. 

“My names Theon. What about you?” He asked suddenly realising that he hadn’t even asked the kind gentleman what his name was. 

“I'm Ramsay. Ramsay Bolton. My dad worked with your mother on a city project. I’m pretty sure we went to the same college, I saw you around campus a couple of times.” He said looking through his phone and finding a photo he had been forced to take of his father and Cat smiling while in front of a refurbished park with a new disabled section. She had been desperate for this project after Bran had become paralysed after an incident in city hall. Theon didn’t actually believe that it was Cat, she had never smiled like that in front of him. 

“That’s why you’re familiar. I couldn’t place you.” As soon as he saw Roose’s face it came back to him. The Bolton family. They never met in college but Theon would hear whispers about his many girlfriends and tales of how he got into drunken fights with dudes. He sounded intense but now he seemed like a reasonable guy. Maybe he had calmed down after college? Theon moved away a small bit hoping that Ramsay wouldn’t notice. 

“That’s okay. I recognised you instantly. I couldn’t forget your face.” This took Theon by surprise. He was the one who people didn’t even notice, the one who was overlooked in classes, so to have someone who he never spoke to recognise him was something else. It was slightly creepy the way he phrased it but it was sort of a compliment so he let it slip. 

Ramsay had seen his face only once in real life before, the rest after that had been though photos, cameras and even windows. Ramsay wouldn’t say he was obsessed, more that he was just very thorough in getting his information. They both then remembered that none of them were talking so they were left in awkward silence. 

Theon didn’t really know what to say next so he just shifted in his seat again hoping that Ramsay would say something to break the tension. 

“What brings you here? You look like shit. No offense.” It wasn’t the perfect way to have a conversation but Theon was grateful for it at least. Seeing Greyjoy in the Crossroad pub was unusual to say the least. Ramsay was hoping that he had a rough night so that he could take total advantage of it. 

“Just got into a fight with boyfriend. I just need a couple of drinks before I can even go back into the apartment.” He joked, Ramsay seemingly laughing along but not for the reason he thought. This was better than Ramsay could have hoped.

“Let’s just say I’m here because my last relationship didn’t work out as planned. They weren’t good at my games.” He said with a sigh. Theon looked confusedly at him. He was trying to figure out what he had meant by games but he seemed like the type of guy who would probably be the one to play pranks. What else could it have meant?

Theon realised he still hadn’t gotten the drinks. “What about the drinks? We haven’t got them yet. I’ll go up and-” He was cut off by Ramsay getting up first. 

“I’ll get them, this time. You can pay me back later.” He said almost a little to eagerly. He put on a smile and went up to the bar. Theon was chuffed he didn’t have to get them but he was going to remain vigilant. He didn’t know what type of catch there would be. 

Ramsay walked up to the bar and looked at what he had on the shelves. He scanned for the specific items and smiled when all was there in place. 

He ordered something he knew that Theon liked. A mixture of Whiskey, Cointreau, Lemon, Orange and just a hint of ginger. He had stalked him for long enough to know what his drink of choice was, and just to be sure he stalked him through his Facebook photos and sure enough the drink was in his hand almost every time. 

The Bartender handed him the drink and the crappy quality beer that he ordered himself. While the bartender was busy with another customer he used this distraction as the opportunity to take a small bottle out of his pocket. He unscrewed the lid and poured the clear liquid into the yellow coloured drink, keeping it covered so Theon wouldn’t see what he was doing. 

Normally he would be using rohypnol for this type of job but his half-brother assured him that this new drug would take effect almost instantly and would last the right amount of time so that Theon would be awake by the time he was locked up in Ramsay’s game room.

He waited a couple of seconds until he was sure it was all mixed in. His father always told him poison was a woman’s weapon and if he wanted someone he should work and get them for his self. Ramsay didn’t care for his father’s opinion very much, also it wasn’t technically a poison. 

Ramsay walked back to the table and placed both drinks down. He handed Theon the drink and he was never more grateful for anything in his life. He didn’t even stop to consider how the mild acquaintance of his was able to know exactly what his signature drink. He didn’t care at this point. He just needed something to chill him out after the argument. 

He took one sip and swallowed it. Ramsay was waiting to see if he noticed anything peculiar about the drink. Theon waited a few seconds, moving his tongue around to get a better taste of it and continued to drink it. 

Theon didn’t know what way this bar made his normal drink but it was very sweet, he guessed that they had added some candied Lemon zest to it. Not that he was complaining though. Robb always told him that he had a sweet tooth. Theon would always reply when he made a snarky comment by saying he got the sweetest person on the planet. 

He downed it all in one. Ramsay didn’t do that with his drink, he on the other hand was slowly sipping at his beer, biding his time. He felt a satisfied smirk on his face when he put the glass down. 

“That was great, thanks I needed that.” He said relieved. Theon wouldn't say he was an alcoholic but whenever he was upset he liked to drink. A lot. 

Ramsay and him began to talk for a couple of minutes about random stuff, noting in particular just stuff like how Ramsay came to spending his night in a rancid bar. It was only about 20 minutes later that Theon began to falter. He put a hand to his head thinking it was stop the feeling. 

“You okay?” Ramsay asked with fake concern. 

“I think I drank it too quickly.” He said trying to shake his head to get rid of the dizziness coming over him but it didn’t seem to be working. He guessed that it was a stronger whiskey then he was used to or perhaps the bar made it with a stronger brand of alcohol.

He tried to remain upright but he was losing his senses at an alarming rate. 

“I'll get you out of here.” He helped Theon’s arm around his shoulder despite his protests that he would be okay to walk on his own. Theon looked around but no one else in the bar seemed to notice. He didn’t want to be taken by some guy he barely knew, he didn’t even get the chance to give him the name of the apartment. 

He tried to see what car it was but he was on the verge of passing out. He wanted to get a taxi but it seemed as though Ramsay had other ideas. Theon couldn’t think very straight but he only now considered the possibility that he had been drugged and now that this guy was going to drag him off and probably murder him. 

Murder would have been the better alternative for him. He underestimate how far that this had been planned in advance. He had been watching Theon ever since he had been invited to a Stark house party. There was something about him that caught his eye. He didn't know what exactly it was. Perhaps it was seeing him so confident in himself or maybe it was the fact that he hadn't had a good torture in ages and he happened to be the first cute person he saw after having the thought. Either way he had spent time researching him and he knew that he just had to have him. One way or another. 

And of course there was the added bonus of hurting the self-righteous prick known as Robb Stark.

With Robb being in the police force they had a lengthy conversation that in the ‘unlikely event’ that if Theon was being kidnapped then he should try and throw a possession away so that people could find it like a driver’s licence or something that could identify him. He was to dizzy to get anything out of his pockets and Ramsay would notice if he dropped anything noticeable but there was one thing he could use. 

The small silver ring around his finger.

It was the engagement ring that Robb had given him a month ago. It was a small ring but it had very detailed engraving of the ocean with a small black pearl in it. It had cost Robb a small fortune but it had all been worth it when he saw Theon’s face light up and was then attacked with kisses. It had been such a good time for them.

He didn’t want to throw it away but then again if he kept it Ramsay would just take it from him and probably pawn it to some tacky pawn shop and get it for only half of what Robb paid for it. 

Theon got it off of his finger thankfully without Ramsay noticing. He faked a cough as he dropped it on the ground and he heard the clink as it hit the stones but once again Ramsay remained unobservant of it. He held Theon up more as two unsuspecting people walked by, assuming he was just drunk and his friend was helping him get home. 

Theon couldn’t use his voice. His brain was too jumbled to think. His feeble attempt to push Ramsay away was making him laugh. He was pretty much out of it by the time that Ramsay had thrown him in the back seat of his car. He tried to reach out but Ramsay looked down at him like he was pathetic. Before he lost consciousness all together Ramsay made sure he heard his last sentence. 

“I hope you're good at games Theon, because we're going to be playing my way."


	3. The Game begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robb tries to look for his fiance with little luck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait but chapter 3 is here now.

“You were so useless!”

Robb shot up from the sofa as he heard the events of last night replaying in his head. He rubbed his face and fell back down. The memories were fresh in his head. It was hard to believe that he had said that to him, it was so unlike him. 

Now that he had slept on it he realised that he was the one who had been the asshole. He had taken it too far and maybe they could have worked it out better if they both had remained calm. Robb looked to the bedroom door thinking that Theon was in there sleeping. He knew he had to make it up to him and knew just how to do it. 

Robb began to make Theon breakfast. When they got into fights Theon would always come back to the house when he was asleep and in the morning which ever one had been the asshole during the fight made the other breakfast. He cracked two eggs into a bowl and began to whisk them together adding small amount of chocolate chips and buttermilk. He hated making this dish because it left his hands and the kitchen a total mess but since it was for Theon it would be worth it. 

For when Theon was the ass he always made Robb some toast which was almost blackened with eggs done sunny side up. Theon was surprisingly a very good cook but he almost never did it. He had been taught by his sister seeing as their mother wasn’t really around to help.

When the chocolate pancakes were done he plated it up and present it nicely, He didn’t like the sweet stuff but Theon loved it so it was the sure fire way to make up for last night. He also made a small cup of hot chocolate as well. Theon was going to be so happy that he would forget all about what happened last night. 

He walked in with a smile expecting to find Theon waiting for him. You can imagine how shocked Robb was when instead of a warm body there was just a pile of crumpled blankets. He pulled the sheets back just to make sure he wasn’t under them but when he found that he wasn’t there he put a hand to his chin curiously.

He put down the tray and immediately pulled out his phone trying to find if any messages had been left for him. When he saw no new notifications he began to try and think of where else he could be. If Theon was out after a fight he would always send him a text if he was going to stay with Yara or Sansa. To have no messages from him and it being about 12 hours later was concerning him but Robb kept his cool. He knew there had to be some logical reason why this was happening. He was an officer of the law so naturally he assumed the worst all the time, thinking that Theon was kidnapped or something extreme like that but he pushed those thoughts aside. What’s the worst that could have happened to him?

He first tried Theon’s number. He bit his lip waiting for a reply. He thought that he had picked up but unfortunately it just turned out to be his messaging machine.

“Hey, Theon Geryjoy (Soon to be Stark) here. I can’t talk right now so just leave a message.” 

“Theon call me when you get a chance.” He said hoping that it would be heard soon. This was weird and more importantly out of his control. When Robb didn’t have control of his situation then he suffered because of it and often other people suffered as well. That happened a lot with his job. 

“Dammit Theon where are you?” He asked himself trying the number again. 

When neither of them picked up he ran to go get his car keys. As he searched the bowl he realised that Theon must have decided to take the car last night. He should have remembered that but everything was kind of hazy at the moment. 

It looked like that for the first time in a while a Stark would have to get public transport. 

-  
He rang the doorbell of the house and waited for a reply. 

“Hi Robb what are you doing here?” Sansa asked happily yet surprised by his appearance.

“I’m here to get Theon.” He said trying to look in to see where he was, thinking that he must have been too drunk to come home so he crashed at his sisters place. 

“He’s not here but mum is. We’re making tea.”

He didn’t want tea he wanted to find his fiancé but if he didn’t say hello to Cat he would never hear the end of it from her. He gave a quick sure and she brought him into the kitchen. Catelyn was sipping her tea when she nearly spat it out in shock. 

“Robb. What are you doing here?” She didn’t get to see her son often so to see him here was rather a surprise. 

“I thought Theon might be here. He didn’t come home last night.” Robb said looking around. Catelyn rolled her eyes as the only time she had seen her son and it was because of that Greyjoy. 

“Robb I'm sure your fiancé is fine.” Cat tried to reassure him, her words seeming not to get to him. He was pacing around and this was bothering her majorly. She didn’t pay for curtesy lessons when he was young to develop such bad habits. 

“It's been over 12 hours he should have been back by now.” The longest he had ever been gone before was about 5 hours and even then he wrote a very drunk text message to say that he was staying with Sansa and Petyr. 

“He's probably passed out somewhere from drinking.” She wasn't wrong. She just didn't know she was right yet. This wasn't the first time that Theon had gotten black out drunk and passed out somewhere. Sansa shot her a quick glance to try and get her to not bash Theon in front of Robb but she clearly didn’t get the message. 

“I know but I've called him 23 times.” He admitted under his breath. She turned around and stared him down. 

“Robb Stark! You can't rely on him like this since your father…” She got a flash of nostalgia as she remembered her husband. Thinking back to the day he had been killed in the line of duty. Ever since he died in the line of duty Robb had been so angry. Mostly because of the guilt he felt, nothing was his fault he just wished he could have been a better son. 

Then Theon Greyjoy came along. He was a decent person but he was unreliable. She tried to let go of the fact that he had left the house unlocked because they got all the possessions back in the end but she just couldn’t stand his irresponsibility. He had apologised countless times but she just couldn’t forgive him. 

“Mother, I know you don't like him but he has supported me and this family since then. Please, we’re getting married.” He gave her the defeated sounding tone in his voice. 

As soon as he brought up the fact that they were going to be married she sighed as she knew she couldn’t win this. She flipped her phone and began to input his number. “Fine. I'll call him. He always picks up my calls because he know well that if he doesn't I'll hunt him down.” She laughed trying to lighten the mood. 

“Thank you.” He nodded with appreciation. 

It began to ring for a couple of minutes and when she tired at least 3 times with no response she put her phone down in frustration. 

“Well the nerve of him! Why don't you go and see Yara? If he didn't come home he might've gone to stay with her for the night.” She suggested not wanting to see her son in a panic. She may not have liked Theon but she hated the other Greyjoy’s more. 

Robb thanked Sansa for the tea and his mother for giving him help and set off to the Greyjoy family business. So once more he was on his quest to find out where his fiancé was. Little did he know he wouldn’t be seeing him again for a while. 

-  
Robb entered the docks and looked around. Business seemed to be good for the Greyjoy's at the moment as people were looking around the various ships and yachts. The salty stench was hitting him right in the face. It was driving him crazy with reminding him of Theon. 

From what he remembered being told his sister Yara was always found on her ship ‘The iron price’ which was quite impressive. It would have been Theon's ship but he had been living with the Starks at the time so his father Balon never considered him in the running.

Robb didn't despise anyone but he came close with Balon. He had never approved of Robb’s relationship with him and at one point had even smacked him for saying that he was in love with him. 

He walked up to the boat and knocked on the door. It seemed to echo inside and he waited for any sign that there was anyone inside.

He was relieved when he heard rustling from the inside.

Out stepped the one and only Yara Greyjoy. He looked different from the last time he saw her but she still looked well. She scanned him up and down and was tempted to just slam the door in his face.

Theon was once removed from the Greyjoy family as Ned Stark suspected their father of abusing him. While it was partially true Yara didn't see it as being that harsh. The case was dropped and he was returned soon after. Balon hated the Starks after that so naturally to find out his son was going to be marrying the first born son of Ned got a violent reaction out of him.

Robb remembered the temptation to lock him up on the spot so much he could taste it now. 

“What are you doing here Stark? Here to arrest me?” She said with her eyes rolled. She noticed how odd he looked. Like he had been running around all day trying to track him down. 

“I just wanted to see Theon. I wanted to say I'm sorry.” He said thinking that he would have been here. 

“As nice as your apology is, he isn't here.” She said sharply. She didn’t want to talk to him longer then she had to. She wasn’t surprised that he was going to apologize for something. Yara wanted someone who would treat her brother right and she didn’t think that Robb was the person to do it. 

Robb was going slightly into panic mode. He wasn’t answering his phone, he hadn’t called Yara and he hadn’t told anyone where he was. This was not like Theon at all. 

Yara drew him from his thoughts “We'll have you checked with your sister? Sandra was it?”

“Sansa and yes. He wasn't there either. They suggested I come here.” This defiantly got a reaction from her as well. She knew her brother as well as Robb did and knew this was unusual of him. She drew up the conclusion that it must have been a really bad fight if Theon didn’t want to talk to anyone. 

She got up close and personal with him. “I'm going to give you some advice Stark. LEAVE HIM ALONE. He likes his space and you should give him it.”

“Your right. I'm sure he'll be back soon. He has to be.” He didn’t have the energy to fight and they were probably right. He knew he was overreacting to the whole situation and should wait for a couple of more hours before beginning to fully panic. 

He felt like he was playing a game of hide and seek with Theon. 

*

Theon had, without a doubt, the worst hangover he had ever had in his life. It was splitting him apart. When he tried to move his arms they didn’t feel like anything, yet the felt like they were weighing a ton.

The scent of death was present. Theon had sometimes had to go to the morgue because of a dead person they had found on one of their boats. It smelt like salt and rotting flesh. The salt he could handle but the flesh was too much and he had needed to throw up after words. He was getting that sick feeling again but he didn't feel like his throat could handle it. It felt like he hadn't had a drink of water in years. 

He could pick up a distinct tapping sound on the floor and he was trying to determine whether or not it was water or a person tapping their foot.

He looked like he was in some kind of dungeon from the medieval times. I was made of stone and had the feel of being real. If he wasn't mistake he would have sworn that he was in the year 1066. 

Theon looked around but on the floor in front of him there lay various decaying body parts. As soon as he registered what was going on he was beginning to try and wriggle away but there was something else restricting his movements. Rough slightly rusted iron bound his wrists and he was as awake as he could be. He tried to move by it seemed he was tied to a big wooden X shaped cross.

“Wake up sun shine.” Said a voice in front of him, most likely the one who had been tapping his foot. His vision was becoming more focused but he could just about make out some type of face and black hair on top of it. 

Ramsay had just been waiting for him to wake up. While he had been attaching him to the giant X shaped cross his fiancé Robb had left a voice mail and he sounded delightfully desperate. He was contemplating letting his new little prisoner hear it but he withheld. If Theon was given even the tiniest particle of hope then he wouldn’t break as easily. 

“Ramsay? What happened?” The last thing he remembered was getting into a fight with Robb, going to a bar, meeting the black haired good looking guy and then it was all a hazy mess from there. He tried to pull his hand but they were bound by chains. Theon saw this and his struggling became more violent. He had no idea what he had done but he knew that even when he was drunk he would never consent to something like this. 

“You felt a little bit sick so I took you to my place. Then again that tends to be the side effect of the drug.” He added a small smile to the end of the sentence and watched Theon’s face come to the realisation that Ramsay had knocked him out and chained him to this thing. As soon as he registered the full situation he tried to look for a way out. He was in some kind of damp basement. He looked around for a window but there was no other lights in the room apart from the old fashioned torches that were all along the walls. 

“Did you-?” He couldn’t finish the sentence he was too frightened. He felt disgusted that he had allowed himself to fall for such a stupid trick. Letting some stranger by him a drink. He should have remembered Robb’s advice. He wished he could be here right now. 

“Yes. Do you know why I did it?” This was one of the first questions he always asked his prisons and each one had a different response. Some were petty, some were funny but overall most of them were boring. Something Ramsay wouldn’t tolerate. 

Theon was too scared to answer him. He wasn’t the man he had met last night. The one from last night was charming and willing to listen, this one just seemed like a creepy psychopath. He was an idiot for getting into the fight with his soon to be husband. Maybe if he hadn’t then this wouldn’t be happening to him. 

“Answer me!” He said suddenly turning violent and banging on the wood to get a response from him. Theon shuddered and tried to form a response in his head. The words were jumbling about in his head but he couldn’t form them. The fear of knowing that if he said anything wrong it could mean an instant knife to the throat. 

“Be-cc-ause I was there?” He asked hoping that he was somewhat right. He could tell by the sudden change that he was the type that was violent and they could appear calm but it was masking a storm underneath. Theon had given a boring answer. 

“Correct, partially.” He wasn’t going to give away his plan for him quite just yet.

“I want you here because I- you know what on second thoughts no. I'm not going to tell you. Not yet anyway.” He was delighted. He loved the first day his victims were here. It was always a mix of confusion, fear, anger and crying. He loved it so much he always had a camera secretly recording it. If he ever had a rough day he would go home and watch them. Not doing anything in particular just overserve the emotion on their faces. Watching as they tried to comprehend the situation. 

The only problem was after a while those faces started to fade and there was no variety anymore. And Ramsay was prone to get bored easily. When they made him bored he did what everyone else did when they got bored. They got rid of the thing that was boring him and went in each of a new thing to keep him entertained, and the cycle continued. 

“What are you going to do with me?”

“You're going to be here for a while so maybe you should find out over time. If you can live past my games. Normally people don't but I have a very good feeling about you. You seem determined.”

Theon knew was fucked.


	4. The Knife Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first game begins for both Theon and Robb. Only it's two very different games.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Torture in this chap as Theon gets tortured by Ramsay. Won't be the last time I use this warning.

Theon had been awake for a couple of hours awake now. He was still trying to think of how he would be able to get out of this. From what he could tell Ramsay was reasonably smart so he thought that maybe reasoning could work with him. 

He was thinking through the scenarios that could work. It seemed like he had a pretty old house so maybe if he offered him a place or money then he might let him go. Another thought that came to mind was that he lacked friends and if he acted nice then he would let his guards down and he could use that moment of opportunity to escape. Naturally Robb had told him everything about what kidnappers say and do so he thought he was ready to deal with him. 

He thought it would work then another thing caught his eye again. The arms and various blood splatter that made up the room’s décor. The worst case scenario was that he was a cold blooded killer incapable of remorse. They could be reasoned with and if you couldn’t understand them you couldn’t get on their level so escape would be impossible. 

He cleared his mind and tried to take a deep breath but the stench was making it hard for him not to vomit in the process. He was muttering a plan to himself when the door at the top of the steps opened up and Ramsay decided to make himself known. The creek of each step was heightening Theon’s nerves. As he walked down he felt adrenaline going through his veins as he saw what seemed to be a very sharp, serrated knife. 

Ramsay looked Theon up and down and nodded. He was ready for the first game. 

“Good morning! It’s a beautiful day outside.” He said in a cherry voice, annoying Theon. He would give anything to be able to stretch his legs in the sun. Being attached to the wooden cross for nearly a full day was making his muscles sore as hell and the chains that were on his wrists weren’t helping either. 

“It’s time for the first game. I call it screamer. I take a knife and begin to cut you, if you scream you lose but if you don’t scream for the entire time I give you food.” He said excitedly waiting for Theon’s reaction. 

Theon knew he would need the food to survive but he could risk a lot by playing. It wasn’t exactly the most hygienic place and he doubted that Ramsay would give him some medical assistance. 

When Ramsay didn’t get the reaction he wanted he held the knife right up to his neck and watched as he began to squirm. He went to close to his hear and whispered, the heat of his breath touching his ear. “Let’s begin. Shall we?”

He took the knife from the neck and cut off Theon’s shirt he had been wearing in the bar. It was a grey top which looked rather old and worn out. He slashed it off and he saw Theon’s fear beginning to grow. He could have also swore that he saw a tear forming in his eye. What Ramsay didn’t know was that he had just ripped up the first T-shirt that Theon had slept in the first night he slept over with Robb. It had been Robb’s grey top but since Theon was smaller than him and he was his boyfriend he claimed it as a pyjama top. He loved it because it just had that distinct Stark smell, a mixture of musk and Grey Wind’s fur. To anyone else it would be horrid but not to Theon. 

After some careful thoughts Ramsay knew he would begin near the top of the torso. He made the first cut and Theon was almost tempted to lose the game on the first turn. He could feel it seeping out and he physically had to bite down on his tongue so that he didn’t make a sound. 

The pain of the cut was testing his will power to keep his mouth shut. He knew that he would need the food for when he got hungry, another useful tip from Robb. Ramsay was so hoping that he would scream on the first turn just so that he could see the look on his face when he realised he’d lost. 

“You're doing it quite well. Most people lost on the first go.” He was impressed but still not satisfied. He wanted to make Theon cry, beg and overall scream if he could but he was giving him a fair chance here. 

Ramsay worked the knife like an artist with a paintbrush. Carefully sliding it from left to right, causing the canvas to change from a light peach to a bloody red. Theon’s was obviously in more pain but he wouldn’t let Ramsay know that. He was still somehow managing to supress the urge to vocalise it. He often had to silence himself but those were in normal situations with Robb when they had guests in their house but they still wanted to do it with each other. 

Ramsay was looking at his work, trying to think of what could cause him to give in. He then looked down and noticed that he still had his trousers on. He then got one of his brilliantly twisted ideas. Theon through tear filled eyes looked and tried not to look at him. He looked like a pure psychopath. 

The knife was making his way down to the genital area and this is when Theon really began to squirm. As he dragged it along his chest he began to make a wave style of line in an attempt to get him to scream. Ramsay could tell he was so close but he just needed that last little push.

Theon couldn't control the scream he let out when he felt the knife got just above his cock. It was the most sensitive of his body. Ramsay drew away the knife and Theon almost begged to get it back. He wasn't going to lose this game

“Oh well. You put up a good fight but you lost.” Ramsay said knowing how those words were crippling him.

“No, please.” He wouldn’t accept that he had lost. If his arms were free he would have got down on his knees and grovelled to be forgiven. 

“Well since you asked so nicely I suppose.” He said filling Theon with hope, not knowing it was another mental trick.

Ramsay took out a small brown sack and Theon was ready for whatever was in it. Ramsay then took it out of the bag and pelted him minuscule breads crumbs, hardly fit for human consumption.

“Well, I gave you food now be grateful you brat.” He said about to go up the stairs.

This told him more about what type of person he was then anything he had said. He learned that Ramsay was a sadistic little freak who was smart which essential meant he was going to die here. Theon couldn't reach it for two reasons one was that he was still attached to the X shaped board and he was in too much pain to move even if he could.

“Please.” He tried to call out. He didn’t need food yet but for the love of god he needed some type of medical assistance for the cuts that had been inflicted onto him. 

Ramsay heard him loud and clear but didn’t bother turning back round to look at him. “I'll see you tomorrow with another game.” He added another cruel laugh and left him on his own. 

As soon as Theon was sure that Ramsay was out of earshot he let out his anger in the sound of an anguished cry. 

He was so stupid for getting into that argument with Robb. He wanted him here now. He wondered if he was looking for him right now. His eyes were locked in the door as he decided that he would wait for it to be kicked in and then to be taken to the hospital in his arms. 

He eventually passed out from the combined pain and exhaustion, the marks still bleeding and making a dripping noise on the floor. He would have remained that way until Ramsay snuck back in and went behind the X.

He blew his small trumpet horn right into his ear, jolting him awake. He screamed and tried to flail away but the chains were still binding him so his movements were minimal.

“You didn't think you could fall asleep yet. You fall asleep when I say you sleep.” He said in a possessive tone of voice. If there was one thing he wanted it was total control over his prisoners. He simply indulged in the fact that he had all the power of their lives. Watching Theon struggle was his going to be his favourite past time. 

“You bastard! Robb will find me. He's with the police.” He tried to yell at him. 

Ramsay found it adorable how he was trying to sound tough so he knew the two words that would shut him down in a second flat. “I know.”

“What…?”

“I know all about you Theon Greyjoy. I know where you live, what time you sleep at and every single thing about your family. Didn't you even wonder last night how I was able to know exactly what drink you had?” 

“Why?”

“Enough. I'll see you tomorrow, don't fall asleep or I'll have to come down here again and I hate walking down those big long stairs.” He somehow was able to sound so threats despite his slight lisp.

He was left in confusion as the other proceeded to walk up the steps and make the closing of the door very known as he slammed it shut, letting him know that he was tapped in with no way out.

“Robb, please, save me…please…” He whispered to himself as he tried to ignore the pain and try to think of ways he could get out of here. If there was one thing that kept him going it was Robb’s wise words of never give up. There were often times when Robb had felt hopeless but he persevered and in the end he was okay. 

He was going to begin crying again but then a noise began to distract him. It was a small squeaking sound. He recognised it instantly as often on his father’s boat they could be found nesting if it wasn’t cleaned properly. 

He knew that he wasn't alone in the room. He was going to be sharing with the rats, I acts and god knows what other creepy crawlers hat decided to show themselves that night.

Theon knew that Robb would save him. He had to….?

================================================

As soon as the 24th hour after Theon hadn't come home hit, Robb filed a missing person’s report. He worked with the police and you can be sure as hell that he was getting everyone he could on this case. Unfortunately most other officers were caught up in trying to sort the Lannister corruption scandal. Everyone wanted to find out if the Lannister’s children were really born from incest.

Robb was working at his desk looking at the evidence. It just didn’t make sense to him. He was trying to think of what might have happened on the way to his usual bar. He had very little to go on and didn’t have any evidence that he was even missing so he was stuck in hard place. 

One of his two bosses walked up to him and patted him on the back.

“Officer Tarth.” He said not taking his eyes from the paper. She poked him in the shoulder and when he did eventually look at her she had a look of discomfort in her eyes. 

“Robb… I don't know how to say this but we need to interview you.” She said trying to put it as gently as possible. 

“What?” Robb was the one who said he was missing in the first place. He groaned but he knew it was just normal police procedure to do these types of things. 

“You were the last person to see him alive. It sucks but we need a statement.” She honestly didn’t want to be doing this because she had a lot more important things to be worrying about at the minute but she needed to take her mind of the stressful environment that her parent was unintentionally putting her though. 

In the interview room it was cold and frankly the ceiling was saturated with water. They really needed to get that sorted but the funding was abysmal as it was so they wouldn’t be getting a new place any time soon. 

They both sat facing each other and Brienne had her pen and notebook in hand ready to write his statement. 

“Where were you the night of Theon Greyjoy’s disappearance?” She asked, somehow knowing what the answer would be. 

“I was at home.”

“When was the last time that you saw him?”

“Last night, around midnight. He left the apartment to go out. He took our car.” He said dreading knowing that she would soon ask the question that would make him look suspicious. 

“Why did he leave?” Brienne asked. She found it unusual for someone like Theon to leave in the middle of the night so she was curious as to what it could be. 

“We got into a fight…” He was aware that if he didn’t say it now and she found out later it would come back to bite him in the ass. Most people who left things out were automatically guilty he found in this line of work. 

“About what?” Brienne instantly got concerned. Robb had never mentioned anything about a fight that went on between them. They seemed like the odd couple which had a decent working relationship so to hear that they had fought was unusual. 

“We’re going to move house. We were fighting about which one. He got stressed and I accidentally shouted at him. He went for a drink but never came home.”

“I see.” She scribbled down a note quickly on her pad. Robb tried to read what it said but form where he was sitting it was nearly impossible. 

He could hear form the tone she used that she wasn’t impressed. “I didn't do anything Brienne.” He said nervously thinking that she might assume he did something. 

“I know that Robb, your mother raised you better than that.” Brienne knew that Robb wouldn’t harm a fly so the idea of him murdering his boyfriend was just ridiculous. 

Neither really knew what to say next. They looked at each other and in order to break the awkward tension that had built up Robb decided to make small talk. 

“How's Jaime doing?” Robb asked trying to make small talk. He could see that she was stressed as she was beginning to click her pen more than normal. 

“He's been accused of fucking his sister, Stark. He's not doing well. They're even saying that his nephews are his.” She unintentionally said sharply at him. She didn't believe these allegations at all even though everyone else did. Or rather it was more a case of she didn’t want to believe it. She had a crush on her partner for the longest time but she could never fine the time or reason to come out and say it. 

“That's unfortunate.” Robb honestly did think that Jamie had been with Cersei but that was only because his father had been a strong believer of the claim. He wasn't going to disagree with her due to the fact that he was the one being interrogated. In fact after coming public with it he was killed shortly after. It was too suspicious to be a coincidence. 

“Well he's going to w-” Brienne was rudely cut off as the door was harshly opened and Robb's half cousin walked in. He was part of a special unit nicknamed the Nights Watch. They did the operations which none of the normal police could do. They were Westeros’s finest SWAT team.

“Robb you’re okay!” Jon nearly shouted as he ran up to him checking for any injuries. Robb looked for help getting out of the deadly grip bro style hug and she just looked confused at him. 

He was nearly crushed Robb patted him and Jon knew he should probably let go of him. “What are you doing Jon?” He asked when he was let go as he was actually allowed some air into his lungs.

“A wrecked car was found by the Red Keep.” Jon said finally regaining his composure. This confused the two but they let him keep on talking. 

“So?” Robb asked not seeing how it could be relevant to him.

“It was yours. I’m glad you’re okay. I thought you were dead.” Jon seemed happy but as soon as he said it Robb and Brienne’s eyes went wide and they both looked at each other knowing that they had a fresh clue in their missing person’s case. 

Theon had taken their car to get away after their fight. Theon had been with the car last. 

“Let's go!” Robb said getting up with Brienne in tow. 

They knew that whatever they were going to find was either going to be really, really, good as it could give them lots of clues or it could be the worst thing that Robb sees in his entire life. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Ramsay was reasonably smart. He knew that if he didn't want any suspicion on him he would need to get any evidence as far away from the bar as possible. Also fire tended to clean away anything. He was kind of hoping that they would find it. It would make the hunt more thrilling for him. He wouldn't risk getting caught by the police before but seeing as his captive was engaged to someone high up in the ranks it made it so much more appealing. He had done this process a few times before so it was no problem to get a fire started.

 

They arrived at the scene and it wasn't what Robb was expecting at all. It was his and Theon’s car but it wasn't the normal blue. It was black with ash. If Robb had to guess then he would assume that it was a fast acting accelerant, the person who torched the car didn't want it to be found. Thankfully the number plate was able to survive and a concerned citizen was able to call it in before it was totally destroyed.

As well as that there was no crispy body in the car so that meant Theon was still alive but it made his situation all the more complicated. He couldn't understand what had went down. There most important thing was Theon wasn't there. It either was a good thing or a bad thing, probably the latter thought.

“Why would someone do this to him?” Theon had a couple of enemies but none that he could think of the top of his head.

“Do you have any enemies? Does he?” Brienne asked, she didn't really know him all that well but she knew that Robb was freaking out so that was never a good thing. She looked at the wreck but not for too long, the scent of ash was partially in her lungs so talking was a bit difficult for her. 

“No, then again I suppose with me being in the police it could be anyone I put away.” He had put away some of the worst criminals that Kings Landing had seen. Killers, rapists and arsonists. Or all 3 in one. He didn't know what he would do if one of them had gotten their hands on Theon. 

He looked over the wreckage and tried to find anything that could help him piece together what went down.

Theon was in danger and for Robb that was enough to get him into serious mode. 

“Listen up! We need someone to check the cameras in the area, someone check all the bar within the radius and someone get the samples back to the lab so they can be analysed now!” He barked at the investigators who were there. They all saw how pissed he was and instantly did as they were told. 

Brienne handed Robb a small leather wallet. 

“I found it in the car, is it Theon’s? The id was taken out.” She said noting that it was pretty much empty. Robb was begging for it not to be Theon’s so they could maybe find a match to who it belonged to but the kraken insignia on it said otherwise. He nodded and she put it in a small evidence bag. They searched the scene for a bit longer and when they found nothing Robb was relieved and terrified at the same time. 

They had no idea what would happen next in this game of life and death.


	5. The Pain Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robb looks through the evidence while Theon gets aquainted with one of Ramsay's toys.

Robb had developed a bad habit of biting his nails when he got nervous and currently his nails were practically non-existent. He had no idea where his Theon was and he had now officially been gone for 4 days and no one had seen him. And with them finding the burnt car they hadn't any more time to waste.

They were gathering in one of the rooms of the precinct with all the evidence they had spread out on the table before them. Robb was there along with Brienne and her newest partner, Podrick Payne. And Jon was there as well. He had the feeling that this related to his case but he couldn't know until they got the lab results back from the arson report.

"Haven't we got anything?" He asked the room of friends and other officers.

"Nothing yet but we're working the best we can sir." Podrick said trying to seem useful but only ending up causing Brienne to glare at him.

Robb clenched his fist and tried to remain in control. It wasn't easy for him to be like this. He had to be the one in control since Ned was killed but by god did some days he just want to kick and scream and just let out all of his frustration. Then again Theon was caught up in this situation now because he wasn't able to control his temper.

"Dammit!" He said unclenching his fist and taking a moment to breath

Robb knew that there were too people to blame for this. The person who torched the car and himself. He was thinking of all the situations he would have rather preferred. If they had found Theon by the side of the road beaten but alive, if he had got a minor injured in a car accident even if he had been robbed and left nothing in his wallet. All of those options had one thing in common. He would at least know where Theon was in those situations. Not knowing where he was, it was killing him.

He didn't want to admit it but he had actually looked into get help for his issues. Psychological help. Robb didn't want to think of himself as being sick but he had such trouble control his anger when it came to certain situations. It never went as far as abuse but he knew that this level of anger couldn't be healthy for him.

"What info do we have?" He already knew what information they had. He had gone over it at least a million times but it just didn't make any sense.

Jon was the one who took the paper on the table and made an attempt to put it into a coherent order. "He went out for a drive then his car was found torched by the red Keep. We have nothing else Robb." He tried to tell him. They had a couple people saying that they had seen the car driving but not where it had parked originally.

"He said he was going to a bar. What bars are in the red keep area?" In these types of cases they would normally try and think of every option or everything that could have happened. One of the first places Robb had checked was the crossroad pub, Theon's normal choice of pub but the bartender said he hadn't seen him all night. He hadn't had time to check anywhere else.

"There are 4 major ones and 6 small ones. We've checked them already and no sign of him." Jon said.

"We've?" Robb picked up on the deliberate use of the 'we' pronoun. Jon wasn't going to tell him but it seemed like he would be forced to bring it up now.

"Me, Sam and Ygritte." He said with a slightly dreamy tone in his voice as he thought about his sort of- girlfriend. Robb wasn't in the mood to see anything related to romantic spouses so he shot Jon the dirtiest glare and shut him down.

What Jon was about to tell him was that it was actually a matter of Night Watch. They had their suspicions that it may have been linked to another case that they were working on. A three yearlong case.

"So he didn't make it to the bar. That means he must have been taken somewhere along this road." Robb pointed to a small road which was by the apartment. He had looked along the road as many times as one person could and

Jon couldn't help but connect it to a string of abductions that had happened over the past 3 years. The victim's cars would always be found away from where they were taken. If this was what had happened to Theon then Jon knew that they had to find him now. He didn't want to jump to conclusions yet but if the same burning accelerant was used then the Nights Watch team would take over in an instant. They had been trying to pin him down with no success.

"Who was in the area?" Robb was beginning to bit his nails and Brienne and Jon exchanged a glance. They both knew that under severe stress he would bite his nails. The watched as he bit one off.

"We don't know but it-" Brienne was going to tell him that he shouldn't be doing that as it would ruin his hands but something stopped her.

Brienne was interrupted when the door to the room was burst open rather quickly. The intruder was none other than Jon's most faithful friend and ally Samwell Tarly. He was the one who worked with all the DNA testing and working with the books and all that lab tech.

"The lab results are back. Sorry they took so long. We've been backed up in the lab with other cases." He said looking at the room. He realized he must have interrupted someone who was speaking and nervously laughed and apologized.

"It seems that a fast acting Isopropyl alcohol and Kerosene fusion. It's him Jon." Sam said as he began to read of the lab report. It had a couple of pages to it but he was just reading the relevant information. At the end of his sentence he had said it with such a nervousness that it made all the others nervous as well.

Jon was right. He knew that it was the fucker they had been trying to hunt. This was both good and bad. Good because it meant that they had another shot at hunting the bastard down once and for all but bad because it was someone who was close to him.

"Fuck." He said under his breath. He and Sam both knew what it meant and they exchanged the all-knowing look with each other.

The other three were confused but Robb connected the pieces immediately. He could tell that it must have been someone on the Night's Watch list of wanted.

"Who's what?" Robb asked in confusion, fearing the answer he would get.

Sam didn't want to be the one to tell him so he left the room and left Jon to do it. Jon sighed when his backup left but he supposed he could handle Robb on his own. He knew that when he told him he would probably throw a chair at him or something like that. It was days like this he was grateful of his intense training of both restraining people and both self-defence.

"We've- We've been tracking a serial killer for about 3 years now. He… He kidnaps them from bars by drugging them. We haven't found one alive yet. He's a sick one." The team didn't know how this guy kept on slipping through their fingers but he was good and that was bad news for them.

By the way that Jon looked Robb could tell that the guy they were talking about wasn't just a serial killer and that he probably did a lot worse. "What does he do?" he asked not wanting to hear the answer. Normal serial killers were often just found by the police force but since it required an elite squad he wasn't a normal killer. He would have needed to be 50 times worse.

Jon needed a dictionary. He needed one so he could find the words to tell him in the gentlest way possible what Theon could potentially be going through at this exact moment. He was silent thinking for a moment then decided to do as Sam would do. Say it straight out and get it over with.

"He flays them." Jon said straight forward. He knew there was no time to be messing about with this guy having Robb's fiancé. Robb had never heard of the term before so Jon dreaded going into the details of it. If the whole 'Theon was in the clutches of a killer' thing didn't set him off, then this would almost certainly.

"Flays?" Robb had heard of people being flayed but he hadn't bothered to learn what it actually was. He assumed it was some kind of torture technique.

"He cuts their skin off. Medieval style." Out of all the cases he had seen in the past by for the most gruesome corpses he had seen was the bodies from the 'Mr X case'. It sickened him because each corpse was significantly worst then the last. He remembered the most recent one from about 6 months ago was. He would wake up in a cold sweat just remembering what he had done to it. Especially the fingers. God how it made Jon cringe.

He was right to begin panicking. The fact that his Theon was in the grasp of a psychopathic killer who tortured people medieval style was stopping his mind from functioning. For all of this to happen all in the short span of four days was overwhelming him. Also there was the fact that he had been up for at least 30 hours without any sleep and minimal food.

He took a seat and tried to regain some form of reasonable thinking.

"How long does he keep them alive?" He asked. He needed to know how much time they had before they were sure that Theon would be dead.

"We don't know but if we had to guess about 2 weeks before he kills them." It wasn't conclusive evidence though. They had each found the bodies at different time and each at different stages of decomposition.

"He's been gone for 4 days. We have 10 days to find him." Robb did the math. Most prisoners wouldn't last more than a week in most kidnapping cases but then again it was Theon who was take, an iron born as tough as nails.

Robb was now determine. Determined to find out everything there was to find out about the psychopath and figure out how he worked. If he knew that they there would be an increased chance he would find Theon.

"Is there any correlation in the bars he visits?" Robb knew that there had to be some kind of pattern. Some kind of strategy that the killed had for picking his victims. The one that that made him worry was the use of the words Psychopath. Psychopaths were harder to catch as they often did things in way which made them 10 times harder to catch. Jon didn't have the file with him at the moment but he was able to recall the information from his memory.

"He tends to go for the crappy type of bars. There are several that have been used before but he never goes to the same one twice." Robb was withholding all of his pent up rage. He was going to find this bastard and put an end to him. It was like he was doing everything in his power just too specially piss him off. Couldn't he have left even the tiniest piece of evidence?

It was at this moment that Robb realised he didn't even know what to call the psychopath he was going to hunt down. He needed his name so he could picture what it would be like when he shot him in the face for touching his beloved. "What do you call him?"

This one took all of them by surprise as they relied that Jon hadn't actually told them the name yet. "He's called X because he also leaves another mark on his victims. An X mark made by branding." That was about the only thing that linked all of the cases. Normally on the stomach or hip they would have a seared X mark. Sam had gone through ever book to see what it could have been but he came up dry.

Brienne and Podrick looked down at the two and the tension was filling the room quickly. Podrick excused himself saying that he was going to go get them all some tea and biscuits. Brienne let him go but she stayed. She was much stronger then Jon was and could restrain Robb if she needed to.

"I am going to find X and I am going to kill him." Robb said in a suddenly calm voice. He had assembled a plan in his head. He would read through all the evidence that they had until he could find his fiancé. It wasn't a perfect plan but they had to do something. Robb was about to barge off and get the files he had on Mr X but Jon interrupted him.

"If Theon is alive he won't be the same. The torture he inflicts onto others, he'll be lucky if he doesn't need intensive therapy." He said. He had seen significantly lesser damage cases where a victim had lived but was so traumatized that they refused to leave their house for the first year of being rescued. He knew Theon as tough as most iron born were but it was truly a matter of how much he could take before being broken.

"We'll find him before that happens."

This was a game of chess and it was just a matter of trying to figure out what the others next move would be.

It had been four days and Theon already was like a walking talking corpse. Ramsay had been generous enough to give him a small helping of bread and water but not before playing another round of screamer. Theon had used the shredded remains of his shirt to act as makeshift bandages as Ramsay was providing no medical treatment but he found it hard to reach the cuts he had made on his back.

Ramsay had also been kind enough to let him down off the X for half an hour a day to stretch his legs. Ramsay didn't want to deal with him not being able to walk properly from being tied up for so long. That was about the height of his mercy but it wasn't like Theon could complain.

Theon had searched the room at least twenty times over for a way to get out but the only thing he was able to find was the human remains, some bags of dog food and dead mouse carcasses. Nothing that could help him. He had learned the times at which Ramsay would come down at so he knew where to be when the doors at the top of the steps opened.

He didn't have any real sense of time so he just assumed when it would be and he was often right about it. He guessed it was about 1 when Ramsay went down to give him 'Lunch' which was always wither something inedible or not enough to consume physically.

What he wasn't aware of was that Ramsay was actually giving him food at the wrong time of day to mess him up. He gave him permission to sleep at about 7am so that he could go and do things like normal people and also get more idea and toys that he could share with his new prisoner.

He heard the door at the top of the stairs opening and he waited patiently, not trying to act suspicious. He thought that he had placed cameras in the room and could see what he was doing anyway but if that was the case he was curious as to why he had done nothing to stop him yet.

Ramsay made his way down, whistling a merry tune while doing so. Why was he merry? He had grown bored of the screamer game and was going to introduce him to another one of his fun activities. The activity in mind was called branding.

"Oh Theon good to see you're awake." He said happily going up to him and looking him up and down. He was getting awfully skinny. All the other had gotten pretty skinny as well but this time he wouldn't let his new pet die of starvation.

"You didn't give me permission to fall asleep." Ramsay had left last night without saying he could sleep and Theon knew the repercussions of not following his orders. He hadn't done anything aside from the odd torture which left Theon wondering what else he could have in store for him.

"Good boy. I have something special I want to do today." Theon growled at the cute pet name he had been assigned by the psycho path but there was physically nothing that he could do about it.

Theon was shaking where he stood. This was the first time Ramsay had wanted to do something besides the knife game and form the way he was smiling he looked way to happy about the next game. He looked at the bag that he had carried down with him and wondered what he could possibly have in it.

"You need to be on the cross for this one." Ramsay said poking through a bag for various objects. He had tried to run the first time Ramsay had let him out of the chains and it resulted in his back getting whipped like he was in some kind of S&M film. He went to the cross and waited for Ramsay to come and time him up. He felt disgusted with himself for letting him do this but he had no other choice.

He pulled out lots of minor things like a couple of cloths, bandages, some kind of medical liquid and finally a long back rod which had an X on the end of it. If he had to make an assumption he would have guessed that it was some kind of fire poker.

Ramsay walked the one of the walls in the room and moved a small hidden panel, which in turn revealed a hatch and opened up what seemed to be a huge hole in the wall. Theon hoped that it was a window but upon looked closer he came to the conclusion it was a fire place.

It hit him like a truck. The sicko was going to brand him, mark him like he was some kind of property. It had taken no time at all for Ramsay to get the fire started, he was good with stuff like that.

"Do you know what is going right to happen next?" He asked him rhetorically. He could see the fear that was instilled within him. The more Ramsay observed Theon the more he noticed the difference in his fear. Whenever he threatened him with the knife he got a glazed over look in his eyes. Ramsay could tell that it was what he feared the most.

With the brand however it was a fear of the Unknown. His breaths were taking longer to come out which Ramsay knew that it meant he was holding his breath. He was enjoying this fear so much that he felt a strange sensation in his pants. He had never felt this way when torturing anyone else but something about him was special. He had never violated anyone he had captured sexually but with the way things were going he might be experimenting a little.

While waiting for the X to get to its red hot state he decided he wanted to make small talk to pass the time. Try and get Theon to talk to him. Sure he already knew everything about him from the internet and from far away but he knew little of his actually person.

"So…How do you like it here?" He asked nonchalantly. He saw Theon's face muddled with confusion but then with an angered but still very fearful voice he replied to the comment.

"What do you think I think about this bloody prison?" He needed freedom, he needed the feeling of the wet see breeze on his face and most of all he needed his Rob to be there with him.

It wasn't the first time he had been like this. Trapped in a small space and tied up. There had been a time in his childhood when his dad was having a binge drinking session after all of Theon's brothers had died in a boating accident when he was fed up with him. He tied his wrists together, making sure that the rope was digging into his flesh and shoved him harshly into a cupboard. Theon could still remember the feeling of his head banging against the hard wood.

He vowed to himself that he would never be trapped in any type of prison ever again. He had just broken his one vow. No, Ramsay had broken his one vow.

Ramsay saw the awkwardness but elected to ignore it for the time being. "Right, not at that stage yet but I'm sure that I'll make you like it yet." Once he had broken Theon a bit more he would feel right at home. He would have to feel at home. It wasn't like he was going to let him go anywhere else alive.

Ramsay, while waiting on the device of torture device to be done forgot about something else he have to check. He went up to Theon and took of his clothes, his resisting the whole time of course. He may have just seemed like a pervert checking out his naked body but aside from doing that also he was actually checking for where would be the best place to put the X mark. He would often do it on the hips but he didn't quite know with Theon. He thought that maybe he could do it on his arm as he could look at it all the time.

Ramsay took great pride in his work and it always had to be perfect. He then saw it. The perfect spot for him to mark Theon. There was a small area of perfectly clear skin which was just the perfect size of his X. It was about 5 cm down form the top of his shoulder blade. Normally he wouldn't be this precise and would normally have the mind-set of 'Fuck it there's a good spot.' And just go for it.

Theon felt Ramsay touching random parts of his body and he lost it. He had remained calm and tried to do follow Robb's advice on a kidnapping situation but it was too much for him to even begin to handle properly. "I'm never going to give into you. I'm a bloody Greyjoy and what is dead may never die." Those words made him feel stronger when he was weak.

Ramsay stopped looking at his arm and looked at him confused. "Isn't that a religious quote? I didn't think you as a religious type. Then again I'm sure I can convert you." Ramsay wasn't really into the whole 'gods' thing so he hadn't bothered to check if Theon had any specific religion or not.

There were a lot of gods that people liked to believe in. The Starks were believers of the old gods but they were always respectful of Theon believing in only the drowned god.

"To what?" Theon didn't even want to begin thinking about what possible religion that he could be a part of.

"You need to learn that there is no God. Only me. Your master." His therapist had told him several time that he had a borderline god complex and that he was a total sociopathic megalomaniac. Ramsay didn't think of it like that back then and ended up stabbing the good doctor in the back while she had her back turned. He could now she that she may have had a point, only difference was that he saw it as a good thing that should be left alone while she was trying to change him. He wasn't going to be changed so easily.

"Master?" Theon asked confused by the title. He was beginning to see how it was working. Ramsay was treating him like a dog. Theon made the assumption that was why the dog food bags were there and Ramsay must have had some kind of fixation on this type of thing. Ramsay saw him looking at the dirty bags of old 'direwolf brand kibble' and remembered that he must introduce his new pet to his actually pets soon.

"See you're already calling me by my proper title"

Thankfully to save himself from anymore awkward talking the iron was just about ready to be used. He took it out and spat on it just to be sure. When his saliva sizzled in an instant he knew it was time to mark him. Theon's metaphorical sweat was now becoming physicalized as both the reality of the situation was hitting him and the heat was so intense it would causing him to become drenched in sweat.

"This is so everyone can see that you are mine and mine alone." He said lining it up with the spot he had mentally mapped out. Theon was whimpering and begging for this not to happen. He could deal with the knife and begin cut but he didn't do well with heat.

The sound was the worst part. It made a wet sizzling noise, like when you put a hot tray in a wet sink. There was the screaming also, though to Ramsay it sounded like an orchestral piece made only for him.

Theon could feel the burning hot iron searing his flesh like he was a steak on a grill. He never thought that he would miss being cut with a knife. That was until he Ramsay proved him wrong. He had no idea it would get so much worse.

Ramsay wished he would have had a recorder at that very moment. He did have a tape recorder but he was saving it for later. He had a little errand he had to run with it. An errand that involved Robb Stark.

Two things were going through Theon's mind at this very moment. One was the catastrophic amount of pain he was in. The other was of Robb bursting down the door right now and taking him to the nearest hospital. He needed to be saved. The pain got to such a point that he yelled for the only thing he could think off.

"Robb, please it burns."

He had said those exact word about 5 years ago when there had been a small fire in his dormitory room and he had gotten a minor burn on his hand. Robb had been at the hospital in an instant and was smothering him with love and kisses to make him feel better.

"He's not going to come." Ramsay told him. There was no way he would be caught, he had been doing this for years now and if they hadn't caught him at this stage then they never would. And besides with his father working so closely with the police and city hall if they were onto him he would get a heads up and could get rid of anything that incriminated him.

"He will." Theon said with pride. He wasn't going to be like the people Robb told him about. He wouldn't end up a murdered kidnapping victim because Robb was going to catch this maniac and put him away forever. Ramsay found it adorable how he still had so much spirit he could break, even after they had played the first game.

This was exactly the situation that Ramsay had been hoping for. Theon still had the foolish hope that Robb was going to come and save him. He was going to enjoy shattering that hope like a mirror and then stick the shards into his eyes. And then when there was nothing left of his hope and he was thoroughly broken that was when he would mould him into the perfect servant.

He would mould him into the perfect Reek.

He stepped back for a moment to look back and admire his work. "Well I think that it's rather successful. It looks good on you." He rubbed the mark and got a quiet hiss from the Greyjoy.

"I hate you!" The rage he had been holding back clear in his voice. He couldn't even think of anything better to say.

He removed the branding iron along with the charred skin around it. If Ramsay had to say it was probably the cleanest branding he had done. He quickly got the liquid medication he had brought down and slathered it on, getting a rather loud scream from his prisoner once again. The last thing he wanted was for Theon to get an infection. He wasn't an expert in medicine so if they got to a certain point of sickness they would be screwed.

"You've been though a lot. I give you permission to sleep. I will be back in the morning." He said packing up all the objects he had originally brought and quickly making his way back up the steps. He smirked but didn't let Theon see. He knew that the pain would rob him of any sleep he would get. Then again there was always the possibility that he could simply pass out form the pain.


	6. The Truth Game

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick warning for a non con blow job near the end.

One week. 3 days. 26 minutes. 2 seconds.

That is how much time had passed since Theon was went to the bar and as the time was counting down Robb get more driven to find him.

They had hosted a special report on the news where they finally made news of the killer public. Ramsay had actually happened to be watching it as it was on. He laughed at how much the description of the killer was wrong.

Robb had been at the front of the investigation. He wasn't in the Night's Watch team but seeing as the victim was of close relation to both Jon and him they decided to let him join just for this case. They had set up a desk in the main area as it had the most space and they could try to set up a clear picture of what happened better.

This sounded easy but the investigation was constantly being interrupted by random people but this time it was the lady of house Stark that made the interruption this time. She hadn't seen much of him and if he was anything like Ned he knew that he would probably look like a twig by now.

She wasn't wrong but he was more pale then anything.

Cat had walked into the station with a container of blue Tupperware in her hand. She looked around until she saw Robb by Brienne's desk looking at a huge pile of paper work. Catelyn walked up to them and made herself know.

"Robb. Brienne." She said giving a little curtsy nod.

"Mrs Stark." Brienne said respectfully. She would call Catelyn by her proper name outside the line of duty but while working it was always the full title. Even when she didn't accept them as being above her. One example being 'Yes, Mr Joffery Baratheon.'

Cat took the pile of papers from his hand quickly and before he could grab then back she shoved the food container into his hand. The determined gleam in her eyes let him know that h was going to eat it and he was going to like it. He opened up and the smell of her home cooked pasta with tomato sauce.

He nodded thanks but put it down. He wasn't that hungry. He guessed the feeling of worry had replaced his appetite. She glared down at the box and folded her arms. She could tell he was going to going to be resilient.

She needed to change the conversation. She was under stress too. "Robb what should I do about the people who keep on calling about the wedding?" She asked showing him her messages on her phone. They were all from the people involved in the planning asking what should happen now that Theon was missing.

The wedding had completely left Robb's head. He hadn't thought about anything else. He looked at the amount of messages that had been sent to Cat and he began to eat at the homemade pasta she had brought him. It was his way of apologizing and she gratefully accepted it.

"I don't care about the wedding anymore. I don't want to think about him and the torture he is going through at the hands of that psychopath." He hadn't told anyone but he had taken a look through the previous records of what the Night's Watch had on him and he was sickened by what he saw.

"Theon's cause so much trouble and he hasn't even been here to cause it." She tried to lighten the mood but it seemed to hit him hard.

"What would dad think of me now?" The question had been so random and out of the blue Catelyn didn't know how to respond at first. She pulled his hands away from his face and made him look her in her blue eyes.

"He would think that you are trying your hardest. It's for the best of you try to forget him now. You have more important things to worry about." She reassured him. As much as she did want to say that he should do what Ned would have done she couldn't now. There were nights when he would work himself into the ground trying to capture a culprit and she didn't want to see that same fate befall her son.

It took Robb a moment before he could move away from her pleading eyes. "After the fight I just don't know what to feel anymore. I know it was his fault but I can't stop blaming myself."

"Blaming yourself isn't going to get him back." She told him blatantly. She brought him into a hug one more time but this time she noticed something unusual. She noticed a dark haired man who had been staring at them for the whole of their conversation. She kept on staring at him and he kept on staring at her. She didn't like the look of him and decided to call him out on it.

"If you want our attention just ask. It is rude to eavesdrop." She said pointing to the man. He acted surprised.

"It is you Mrs Stark, I didn't mean to stare I was just trying to put the name with the face."

Catelyn was confused for a moment. "I'm sorry but who are you?" She hated to seem rude but she wasn't going to act civil to anyone she didn't have to.

"Sorry, my name is Domeric Snow. Roose Bolton's son. I saw you working with him sometimes."

"Roose? I never realised he had a son. Well it's good to meet you Domeric." She extended her hand and he shook it like a true gentleman. He acted as friendly as he could. He wasn't exactly a good sociable person.

He knew that this was the textbook definition of a ballsy move. To go and speak face to face with the family and friends of the guy you have hidden in your basement starving and bound to a big X by iron chains was fucking insane. He loved the thrill of it though.

"I just needed to leave something in." Ramsay said fumbling around his pockets.

"What is it?"

"I found a pair of car keys outside the station. I thought I'd hand them into the reception." Ramsay handed them too her assuming that she too was part of the police force. He knew who she was but he didn't want to seem suspicious.

She looked at the keys and notice the signature Squid emblem. "Those are…Theon's keys… Robb!" She yelled back, getting both Robb and Brienne's attention.

"What is it?" Brienne could see that her good friend was concerned. Cat and she had developed a good bond after they had worked together in one of Robb's police training schemes and they often went out for coffee together. They enjoyed their times out. She had even been allowed to be there when they interrogated Jamie about Ned's death.

"Did you find Theon's car keys at the scene of the crime?" Catelyn asked still holding the keys in her hand. Thankfully she had been wearing her signature gloves so they wouldn't have her fingerprints on it, though they would defiantly have Ramsay's fingerprints on it but that was to be expected since he handed them in.

"No they were taken by Mr X. Why?" Robb picked up the report just to check that they hadn't found it and he confirmed that the keys hadn't been with the other evidence. He knew he couldn't have dropped them because Theon hadn't been to the station for at least a couple of months.

"This man found them outside the police station." She said holding it up whole gesturing towards the man they knew as 'Domeric'

Robb put on a latex glove and too the key in his hand. He only looked at it for a second but he knew it was Theon's.

"Mr X was here? That cocky son of a bitch." Brienne said. She had heard stories of killers going to police stations before but she thought it was a myth. Her quiet outburst had caught the attention of a couple of surrounding officers and they too tried to see what was going on.

"Where exactly did you find them?" Brienne asked seeing as Robb was still mesmerise by the keys.

"Just by the bin." Ramsay said point to the doors indicating that he had 'Found them' outside.

The other members of the Night's Watch who had been there had heard what was going on and Ygritte and Tormund had rushed out with a forensics kit and tape to seclude off the area. "Thank you. We mightn't have found it if you didn't bring it to us." Brienne said giving Ramsay a pat on the back. He had done them a great service in the case. Now they would really be getting somewhere if they could find a DNA sample.

"I'm happy to help." He said. It was nearly impossible for him to hold back his laughter but he had too. If he got caught he wouldn't get home to his little pet. He didn't want Theon to starve to death just yet.

"Check the camera." Jon said as he went with the two ex-wilding gang members.

As Brienne looked at the screen she realised that they wouldn't find what they needed. "Dammit that's another area that doesn't have a camera." She said looking at the building that was falling apart. She had originally wanted to transfer but then something kept her there. Someone.

"Another?" Robb asked looking around just to make sure. He knew that the funding for the police was bad but he didn't think that they couldn't afford basic security.

"The Lannister's don't always pay their debts." She said remembering the conversation she had had with Jamie about how the funding should be divided. Tyrion did want to give more to the police force but his father Tywin was very solid about putting the funding into the iron bank. She wanted to hate Tywin but seeing as how Jamie was her partner she couldn't bring herself to do it.

As the looked around the small trinket they felt something sticky on the back of it. When Robb pulled his hand back he saw a small red patch on his fingers. He wanted to find it was some kind of street gunk nut when he smelt it he had to get it away for fear of him throwing up due to the smell of it.

"It's blood, dried blood." Brienne had been in the force long enough to know dried blood when she saw it. If she had to guess she would say the blood was at least a couple of hours old. If that was the case warm blood still ran through Theon Greyjoy's veins. He was still alive, somewhere.

Robb was past being shocked at this point. He already knew that he was being tortured so it didn't have any impact. The only thing that it did was fuel his determination to find him. His pessimistic mind was telling him to think about what part of the body the blood had come out from.

"Check all the cameras and see if anyone didn't show their face." Robb knew that if they would at least have to be on one camera. He needed this new piece of evidence. This was the break that they needed.

"If they knew that it didn't have a camera there then they would have known where the other cameras were." This X person was cleverer than they originally thought. He knew the police and that put them at a major disadvantage. They were all left with one resounding question.

"Where is Mr X?"

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had been a couple of hours since Ramsay's little police time escapade but he had gotten what he needed from the police station.

He opened the top of the basement steps and walked down to a very worried looking Theon. He took a moment to stand there and look at his work. He was getting skinny but that was how he liked his victims. No energy to escape.

"I'm excited. Do you know why?"

"Why?" He had guessed that until someone was able to find him he would play along and try to avoid further injury.

"Because it's another challenge."

"Here's how to play. I have several true facts about you and I want you to tell me the truth. If you don't admit it then I get to use this."

It was a leather belt but it had been modified to that it had small razor blades attached to it along with it a couple of spiked cones at the tips to add further injury. Theon had been exposed too much cruelty yet but he knew that this one would be the worst yet.

"Ready?" He said circling around him like a vulture closing in on its prey, ready to tear it apart.

"First round. Your old name was Theon Greyjoy."

"True." He said bit in his lip hoping that it wouldn't be some kind of twisted question which he would get wrong no matter what he said. Ramsay smiled and Theon felt another chill go down his spine. He also took note of how Ramsay said old name. He wouldn't let him take his goddamn name from him. He was a Greyjoy and not amount of torture could ever change that.

"Correct. Next question, your fiancé is Robb Stark." He said that part with a smile. Theon nodded and tried his best not to think about where this was going.

"True."

"You got into a fight with him."

Regret. He could feel nothing else. If he hadn't have been so self-centred and thinking about himself then maybe he'd be in Robb's arms. It was after this thought that it struck him. This was his punishment for getting angry with Robb.

This was the Drowned God hurting him.

His back was to Ramsay which he was sort of glad of. He didn't think he could look at the psycho in the face again. Then again the way he was circling him meant he would have to look at him at one point or another.

He was expecting to feel the pain of the razor blades colliding with his back but when no such things came he let out a small nervous laugh. He had survived this round much to the dismay of Ramsay.

He didn't want Ramsay too do anything beyond the torture. He couldn't handle anything sexual. He was with Robb and he was going to be loyal. That was a trait that was common in the Starks and was valued a lot. Cat never thought of Theon as the loyal type but he had always tried his best to prove him wrong.

"True." Ramsay said lowering his weapon.

"Does he still love you?" He asked biting his tongue in an effort to hide his anticipation knowing that he would get it wrong. He was ready to see Theon bleed again. He was ready for it.

"Yes…" Theon said with a slight confidence but his guard higher hen even.

"Lies." His smile was filled with sadistic pleasure as he got the first opportunity to use his device on him. He repeated the process over and over until his back looked like a field in planting season. Deep marks that would probably be there for at least a couple of months.

If Theon's throat wasn't as dry as a desert he would have been screaming at the ungodly amount of pain he was it. He could feel the blood beginning to run down his back.

"I've been spying on him. He said it himself:" he smirked and Theon didn't know his to feel. He was going to hear his Fiancées voice for the first time in almost a week

He played the tape which he had modified so slightly.

"I don't care about the wedding anymore. I don't want to think about him." Theon was looking straight at the recorder. He wanted to believe that it was one of Ramsay's tricks. It had to be there was no way Robb would say something like that. "No, he wouldn't say that."

Ramsay pushed another button and another audio clip played.

"After the fight I just don't know what to feel anymore. I know it was his fault."

That was the one which struck a nerve. Theon was trying his hardest to block out the poisonous lies that his new master was trying to feed him. He was trying to think of ways that Ramsay could have made it up but it was one hundred percent Robb's voice and there was no editing involved. It had come directly from Robb's lips.

"Oh but he did. And his mother agrees." Ramsay said pushing another button and starting his next step in stripping away Theon and bringing in his brand new Reek.

'It's for the best of you try to forget him now. You have more important things to worry about. Theon's caused so much trouble hasn't he?"

Ramsey had no idea it would work as well as it did but Theon seemed utterly crushed.

Theon wanted to ignore it. He just wanted to pretend that what he heard wasn't true but it was indeed his Robb's voice on the speaker phone. How could he say that? Sure they had bad fights but never to a point where he would say he would detest him. Had he really cared that much about the house? He was trying to think of what situations he could be saying this under but he was having trouble coming up with a plausible reason but he was coming up empty.

"You know what though. I love you." Ramsay grabbed him by the chin and kissed him on the lips, hearing a whimper from him as he tried to pull away. Ramsay was undoing the binds that kept him attached to the cross.

Ramsay had done a variety of torture methods but this was the first time he had allowed himself to indulge in the art of sexual torture. He had read a lot about it and after all it was in his blood. His father had sexually assaulted his mother and he was just the by-product of the union.

"I have money. I can pay you. Or on second thoughts if you don't do this I will do anything else." He tried to scream at him. He could stand the knife play, hell even the hot iron but he didn't want anyone else fucking him. That was a job for Robb and Robb alone.

"You're already paying me. Just not with currency. And I think that you're going to do what I say no matter what." Ramsay got up close and personal to him, he leaned his head in close seemed to be smelling him. Theon moved back as much as his weakened body would allow.

He tried to squirm but the lack of energy from food was causing him pain, he could still use his nails to defend himself. A series of hurried 'pleases' and 'don'ts made their way out of Theon's mouth as Ramsay began to toss him about like a slab of meat.

This was when Theon made the crucial mistake of scratching him on the cheek. Theon had been thrashing about so much he didn't mean to do it but it just happened. Ramsay paused for a moment, still holding him down with one hand but using his other to wipe his cheek of the blood. He looked at him for a moment and while Theon assumed he would laugh it off his captor showed no sign of laughing. In fact he looked the exact opposite of it.

"You are going to regret that." Ramsay was always in control and when someone tried to take it away from him he got angry.

He slammed down Theon's head to disorient him and generally make the process a lot easier.

"No one else cares about you but me."

"You have no use for these nails. I think I'll remove them one by one."

"No…Please…." Theon hid his hands away from Ramsay's gaze. Just looking at him caused his to feel the pain that he would inflict onto his hand.

"Well what do you want? It's either sex or torture. Well I suppose to you it's all the same. Either option will make you scream." He said glancing over to the whip. Theon took the hint and stopped all voluntary moving. He was only shaking now.

Theon began to cry again and Ramsay just took a moment to appreciate how cute his sob was. He was like a puppy who had been kicked to the brink of death. He knew all too well what that sounded like.

"Since it's your first time I won't have sex with you, but you'd better give me the best dammed blowjob of my life. Because your life depends on it, both figuratively and literally."

Theon wanted to resist so badly. He wanted to scratch him again but he couldn't afford to be tortured anymore then he already had been. Another thing he knew was that he had to bide his time until- He then remembered the tape that Ramsay had so kindly played for him.

"Wait hang on, I want to play some music while you do it." Theon assumed he would have taken out his phone to play something but instead all he did was take out the recorder device again.

He played the edited tape of Robb and Catelyn on repeat. Over and over and over. He had to listen to how his soon to be finance had been relieved of the burden he had caused. Theon tried to reach for it to turn it off when Ramsay brought Theon down to his knees and made sure he stayed there.

When Theon tried to move away again he was given a sharp smack to the face, letting him know what he was to do. As Ramsay began to undo his trousers Theon let himself cry once more. He was under the impression that he could handle the emotional impact of the torture but not this.

It wasn't long before Theon was forced to take Ramsay into his mouth. It was the most disgusting and degrading thing he had ever done in his life and he had worked with cleaning ships his whole life. He hadn't liked when he gave Robb oral but he had been understand when he told him. That was the difference between Robb and him. Robb asked him for consent and understood boundaries. Ramsay understood none of this.

He repeated the circling motion with his tongue hoping it would make the taste less revolting but it only seemed to make it worse. He tried to focus his other sense but that only made things worse. He could hear his Robb saying how much he hated him, he couldn't look away from him, he was forcibly tasting him and he could hear the moaning noises he was making along with his own pathetic whimpering. All he knew at that moment in time was Ramsay.

As he worked harder he pushed another button which caused Theon to cry even harder. He had left the part where Robb had said it was 'All his fault'

Ramsay had been going slowly up until this pointed and decided that he needed to go the full way with him. If he wanted Theon to be his he had to mark him as his own. He had learned that from the best.

Like father like son he supposed.

Ramsay was a man of his word. He interlocked his fingers in Theon's filthy hair and made him take all of it. Theon's first initial response was to try and bite down and possibly get him to bleed to death but he feared that not even death would stop Ramsay.

He didn't gag when Ramsay came in his mouth. He didn't gag but he didn't swallow either. He wasn't going to take anything he gave him. He found it amazing how he didn't choke despite Ramsay forcing his member almost all the way in.

"I have this one friend Myranda and she doesn't suck me dry as good as you do. Maybe I should get rid of her and keep you forever." When Ramsay released Theon from his grasp he turned into his stomach and threw up. First there was the white stick substance but then it was what little food Ramsay had given him. All that came out of Theon was a small amount of unrecognisable bread and a small piece of uncooked steak he had been given. He didn't want to eat it but he had been desperate.

"You didn't swallow? Oh well I'll get you to learn yet. You need a bath."

Theon licked his lips hoping that he would get moisture but the saltiness was still there. The Greyjoy would have thrown up but there was nothing left in his stomach so he was dry heaving onto the floor, spitting a little stomach acid.

The last time he had cried this hard was when he had been taken away from Yara when he was younger. Both time made him cry because something had been taken from him. The first time it had been his family but this time it had been his promise to only be sexual with Robb. He knew that it was a situation out of his control but he still felt like in some way, if he had done something differently then maybe he'd be out of this living hell.

Then again there was always one other way he could get out of here. He waited until Ramsay was totally silent before he spoke.

"Kill me…"

Theon had gotten to the point where he didn't want to live. It had felt like an eternity since Ramsay had taken him but in actually he guessed it would have been about a week. If Robb hadn't found him by now he was a dead man. The tape was still on repeat and it reminded him how Robb wasn't looking for him. He was painfully aware that Ramsay was going to kill him in the end so he just begged it would be over now. He couldn't go through it again. He couldn't.

Ramsay dropped the cloth he was using to clean himself up. "What? You want me to kill you?" He was clearly offended by the statement.

Theon didn't know what he had done but he had said something Ramsay didn't like as he got the dangerous look in his eyes. Without any single warning he picked up Theon and slammed him against the X.

"You are mine and I will kill you when I want you dead." He said going up close to his face and making a biting motion at his neck. Theon's neck was getting sore from the amount of times he had to pull his neck away from Ramsay.

Theon was his toy and he was his to control. He told him when to eat. When to sleep. When to please him. The first Reek he had promised he would be with him forever and he had broken that promise. He wasn't going to let this Reek be any different.

Ramsay ran a hand down through Theon's hair. It had gotten very thin and he could feel how it was very greasy. He hadn't washed for a week after all. He was debating giving him a haircut but the he thought of how much fun he could have if he kept it and was able to pull on it hard when they got round to having sex. And he knew he would get round to that very soon.

Maybe he should cut of a lock and send it to Robb just to let him know how things were going between the two of them. He couldn't wait to see his reaction. He might leave it at the police station so he could get into the CCTV footage and watch his face as he realised that Theon was his now.

With Theon lying a shaking crying mess on the floor he decided to leave him but not before whispering one last thing into his ear.

"What game should I play next?"


	7. The Family Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roose mets Theon and there's a quick peak into how he is doing mentally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for this chapter: Suicide briefly mentioned

Time was an interesting concept. Theon had only been there for a week and bit but he felt like it had been a whole year. The only thing he really had to tell the time was by how quickly his wounds were healing. If the small ones had closed over then he knew it had been another day.

His time here was showing. His hair was thinner and if seen in the right light it could be seen turning a lighter shade than it had been when he first came here. He could feel hi ribs peeking out from his skin. He was living of the scraps that Ramsay had given him but it wasn't enough. Thankfully there was a small leak and he was able to get rainwater from it.

He was on the cross at the moment and he was trying to think of how he could pass the time when he heard someone coming. He was trying to mentally prepare himself for whatever game Ramsay would introduce him to this time. Theon had tried to think of the worst that Ramsay could do so he could be prepared for it but he never wanted to begin thinking like him.

Theon was scared that it was Ramsay at the top of the steps however somethings was off about the footsteps. They were heavier than Ramsay's for sure. He was praying that it was a police officer who had entered the house and were here to recuse him. That they could take him away from this nightmare. His dreams were shattered when he saw that he was wearing a fancy suit and shirt, too fancy to be a police officer. Theon didn't want to think that he an associate of Ramsay but then he thought who else would have access to this hellhole basement.

He was met with two dark eyes, the same as Ramsay's staring back at him but his face was very different. He was defiantly an older gentleman due to the slight balding of the hair at the top. He clearly kept himself well-groomed as he had a clean shave and he smelt of expensive cologne the Theon could smell from where he had been chained up.

The man looked at him with confusion them what seemed to be boredom, almost like a 'For the love of gods' type of look. Theon wanted to plead for help but he waited for him to speak first, that way he would be able to get a good impression of who he was. Since he wasn't phased by him being tied to a wooden X by chains he assumed he was used to seeing this type of thing.

"So this is the person Ramsay has got this time." He said as he looked over him. He was used to his son brining people home. He recognised him instantly. He was the son of Balon Greyjoy, the man who ran the docks and sold ships. He remembered purchasing a boat of him one time before, it had been sufficient for what he needed to do.

"Who…" It was all he could muster at the moment.

"Roose Bolton. Ramsay's father." He said introducing himself. He always did it with Ramsay's victims at one point or another. Roose was always curious to see what kind of company his son liked to keep locked away.

He sneered disapproving at Ramsay's newest toy. He was concerned about how quickly he had gotten another person in his basement but he assumed it must have been a spur of the moment thing. He was always like that ever since he was a small child.

He was looking for an old stack of city hall papers he kept in Ramsay's house as his basement was overflowing with papers as well. Due to the Lannister scandal becoming public he was drowned in paper work and trying to get it sorted. He was allied with them and if they went down so did he.

He was looking about when Theon tried to talk but it only came out a small noise of distress. Roose was acquainted with the noise all too well. It was giving him quite the nostalgic feeling.

"I remember the first one. Her name was Jeyne." He had fond memories of her. She was a sweet little thing but she was also the most problematic of all of the people Ramsay had kept in his basement. True, Ramsay hadn't done much to her but she had exposed all of the cracks in Ramsay's little operation. She had come so close to escaping and getting him arrested but a swift blow to the head ended her life.

He hadn't meant to do it. It just happened. Ramsay had been inconsolable for a whole day but once he got over the initial shock of losing his new toy he was back to his normal self but smarter as he knew how to play with his next toy. How to play the game in the future.

He remembered the small rhyme he had come up with when they buried her in the woods. 'Jeyne, Jeyne, it rhymes with pain.' It was annoying to him but it seemed to amuse his bastard son. That was the few time he had helped Ramsay with this type of thing. He only enjoyed helping him when it was to do with finding out how much information the police had on him.

"Please….Mr Bolton. Let me go…please…" He could see through a bruised eye that Roose didn't have the same psychotic glare that Ramsay had. He knew he had to try everything to escape and emotional manipulation was something he might have tried.

"I spill my heart out about Jeyne and that's all you have to say? Pitiful." He said, He could see that Ramsay hadn't yet broken this toy but if he had been here for over a week and still had hope then he was going to be a challenge and if he knew his son he knew he was going to be very happy over the next week. Or however long it took for him to break.

Theon could now begin to see the family resemblance personality wise. Roose gave off a colder aura, like he didn't care about him or his son.

Theon got chills at the sound of his voice. It was a lot deeper then Ramsay's was but it had an undertone of something else. Ramsay would scream at you to get a fear reaction but Roose could probably say one word and he would get the same result.

Powerful. That was the only true word that could describe him.

Roose began to look around for the papers he needed while Theon tried to think of the best way to take action. Theon knew he had to play it smart. He had to use this golden opportunity to his advantage. If he didn't he wouldn't get another chance.

"What about Ramsay's mother?" Theon asked hoping that he wouldn't get punished for asking the question. This seemed to get the fathers attention as he stopped what he was doing and turned to look at him.

"Excuse me…." He said, once more giving off that feeling of power around him. Theon swallowed whatever fear he was feeling and procced to talk.

"Ramsay's mother? He mentioned her and I wanted to know if she's still alive." He said weakly.

Roose had remembered Ramsay's mother well. She was the spitting image of Ramsay, curly black hair and the same type of nose. She had been his secretary. She got all of Roose's work done and kept his schedule perfect. Then he learned that she was secretly married to a baker and he made it his personal mission to punish her for it.

If she was married then it would severely affect him as well, he would have to spend time finding a replacement and she was the best at her job. So in the end he broke into their home and strangled the husband while he slept and then forced himself onto her as her husband's fresh corpse lay beside them. She didn't know who attacked her as Roose had worn a mask during the attack but nine months later she died in childbirth. Roose decided to take the child seeing as it was his flesh and blood and he had in a way caused her death.

It had been great for his public image. The newspaper had read as 'Roose Bolton welcomes new bundle of joy!" Along with a picture of him holding a baby Ramsay in his arms. Ramsay was crying in the photo as he expected he would. It had made him favourable with the Starks as they respected how he had the kindness in his heart to raise another woman's child by himself. Something Catelyn wished she could have done.

The Lannister's' had respected him for doing it too. He expected this as well seeing as they had a strong family bond. Perhaps too strong. Cersei was the only one he trusted with the truth of his conception. She had let him know of her children's parentage so if one told the other could go down in flames as well, that being the reason he was down here in the first place. To try and find something so that they could get the Lannister's out of their current situation.

Roose then went around the back to see the extent of what he had done to Theon and he had to admit that this was the most interesting way he had done the torture. The signature X mark that Roose strongly disapproved off as it could be easily linked back to them was deeper than the last couple of people and his back was like a piece of modern art. So many different shapes and curves carved into it.

Then he realised why he was asking. Roose Bolton was smarter then most men and knew exactly the game that he was trying to play. "If you're trying to get information to use against my son in an emotional attempt to blackmail him it won't work." Roose could see through him, he knew what he was trying to do and he wasn't going to give him any leverage against his son, then again he did enjoy creating situations and watching how they reacted.

"I admire you for trying at least." Roose said honestly. Mind games were his forte and he could appreciate it when Ramsay's victims would try to logically figure their way out of it instead of just screaming for help. Then again he supposed Theon must have been tired of the screaming. Roose took note of the white dried substance on the floor. He could piece together what had taken place.

Both were drawn from their thoughts as they heard the creaking of the first step. Ramsay had now joined the party. Ramsay was fearful when he saw the cellar door open but was relieved to only find his father.

"Father, I see you've introduced yourself to my newest pet." He was planning to introduce them sooner but Theon was proving rather resistant. They'd be having family dinner soon enough though. Ramsay went up to hug him but it seemed that he wasn't in the mood.

Roose then remembered something else to do with his son. "I needed to talk to you."

"What about?" Both Theon and Ramsay were interested to see where this was going.

"You're little escaped at the police station nearly caused you to get caught." This caught Theon by surprise. Why in the seven hells was Ramsay at the police station? That would have totally risked himself. Ramsay was panicked for a moment but held up his calm façade.

"I assure you I have this all under control." He said. Ramsay always was trying to prove himself to his father but nothing seemed to be working. Roose was done with having this pointless conversation. He had said what he needed to say and he had done what he needed to do. He found the papers and was quick to be on his way out. He was meeting with Catelyn Stark to talk about where they would host the wedding of Edmure Tully and Roslin Frey. Walder wanted a public display for all to see, it was a big event so naturally he had to be involved as well.

"You'd better. I'm not bailing you out. Also your thing was attempting to get information to use against you from me. Do with him what you will." He mentioned as he was walking up the steps much to the dismay of Theon. He shook his head to the side but Roose didn't even have the decency to look at him.

Ramsay slowly turned around to Theon and stopped for a moment. He had been betrayed and he didn't even need to be brought down from the X.

Roose looked on as Ramsay proceeded to yank Theon by his longish hair and throw him down to the floor and proceeded to kick and punch him. Roose had no emotional investment at this point he had seen his son do this a million times before and he doubted it would be his last.

He walked away and this was enough to get Ramsay to stop bloodying Theon. Roose did care about his firstborn but he didn't want to have to be around when he played his sick games.

"Come upstairs. We'll need to discuss some things." He said seeing as how Ramsay was getting a bit too carried away in his beating.

"Of course." Ramsay said reluctantly. Ramsay pulled Theon up one last time and planted a kiss on his lips before promptly punching him in the face. Ramsay had left him alone. He was down from the cross but he knew he wasn't going to be moving anytime soon.

Ramsay was at an interesting point with Theon. He could see that he was beginning to crack but he was still trying to fight him. It was interesting as Ramsay's mind began to wonder about what would be the act that breaks the poor little Greyjoy. It could be when he started to remove body parts, when he flayed his skin or when he fucked Theon into the dirt hard he would forget Robb even existed. The possibilities were endless.

Theon reeked of nothing but blood, sweat, tears and other bodily fluids that weren't his own. He had tried so hard to try and keep it together but his was unravelling and he had no idea how much longer he could last before completely shattering.

Then a thought stuck him. Where would he go if he was able to escape? He now knew that none of the Starks would be coming after him, his dad was pissed of it him, his sister was probably out at sea doing god knows what with the Targaryen girl, most likely fucking and drinking until the morning.

He would have nowhere to go. No one who would care about him. Then again there was one person who said he cared about him.

Theon had to mentally slap himself when he took a moment to re-think the thought that had popped into his mind. He was being tortured by insane psychopath who starved him, branded him, beat him within an inch of his life and was most likely going to kill him when he felt like it. Ramsay didn't care about him and that was a cold hard fact. Theon didn't know what was happening but there was a small corner in his mind telling him that he should stay with Ramsay, both out of the need for self-preservation and having nowhere else to truly call home.

Robb had wanted him to talk to a therapist about his lack of feeling accepted but he had refused. He remembered the exact words he had used. 'I'm already fucked up Robb, a therapist is only going to make it worst.' He tried to get himself to stop thinking about him but he couldn't. He knew Robb wasn't like that but it had been his voice. Theon could never mistake his accent which could make him melt in an instant.

He curled up and tried not to think about it. He didn't cry. He could hear his sister's words ringing loud and clear in his ear that he should man up and try to find a way out of this situation. If he could just find something sharp then maybe it was the only way he could be free.

He looked at his wrist and one of the worst thoughts he had conceived since coming here popped into his head.

It may have only been a week and a bit but he was so broken that he was already considering suicide a valid option. He didn't know how much longer he could hold up. He knew his mental state was decaying like his physical state was but he didn't know if he could bring himself to do it. Theon was sure of one thing. Ramsay's game was played so that he was always in control but if he was able to take away that control then he would be the winner.

Then again he knew how stupid it would be if he failed. If Ramsay somehow caught him in the act and punished him accordingly. He dreaded to think what that might have been.

When he tried to lift himself up off the cold He was too sore and tired to even begin putting more psychological pressure on himself.

He was going to get out but it was a question of how he would. For the future seemed grim.

"What do you mean I nearly got caught?" Ramsay said hitting the table full force. He was so sure that he had done everything right and not left any evidence that they could find. Roose was immune to his son's outbursts. They simply got no reaction from him anymore as he had been dealing with them for the past two decades or so. Roose motioned his hand as to say 'Sit down and calm down'. Ramsay reluctantly did as his father told him.

"You nearly got caught as they found part of a hair." Roose said handing him a report on the analysis of the keychain. To say it had been hard to get it was an understatement. There were more police men then he could count and what was worse was that there were people who he knew who would come up and talk to him. It had been impossible to get a moment when he could find it and slip away unnoticed.

"Were they able to get a match?" Ramsay said asking the real question he wanted an answer to. If they had his hair then it was more things that they could use to identify him.

"Thankfully not. I don't want you doing anything like that again." Roose didn't want to have to tell his son this basic rule of committing a crime but it seemed he had no choice. He was getting reckless and he needed to be pulled back in before he was too far gone.

Ramsay couldn't believe what his father was trying to say to him. It was like telling him to change his personality. He wasn't going to do that anytime soon, he enjoyed himself too much.

"But father it was just-!" He was going to justify his actions by say that he didn't get caught in the end and everything was okay but his father interrupted him. His father was used to doing this as well.

"I don't want any excuses. Do not do anything like this again or I will not save you when you get caught." He said with finality in his voice. He was only doing this because he cared about his son and didn't want to see him go to prison. Or worse, Death Row. He had murdered enough men, women and children to get him put there twenty times over.

This however only fuelled Ramsay's desire to disobey him even more. He didn't like taking commands like one of his dogs and certainly was able to bite back when he wanted to.

As soon as he left he began to think about what he could do that would piss off his father. There were several ways he could do it but he needed it to be something special. Something that would make a scene.

Then he got a sick idea. One that would kill two birds with one stone. It would break Theon and annoy his father. He began to play the next game in his head and get things ready. He was getting excited at the thought of it.

For his next game he required another player.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any guesses as to who the "Next player" will be?


	8. The Escape Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sansa talks to Robb and comforts him while Theon makes an escape.

It had been a week and 6 days. One more day and then Theon Greyjoy would be dead to the world.

Robb had gotten a small calendar to help him count but the more red X's he saw the less he ate and the less he slept. With the deadline approaching so soon he couldn't help but be active all the time. The dread of finding Theon was too much for him to bare.

This was one of the few times that Robb wasn't in the station. Brienne had sent him home to at least get 6 hours sleep then he could come back. It was just him and Sansa in the house as Catelyn was out getting groceries to make him food and Jon was taking Bran and Rickon to the park for a bit. Robb was glad that there weren't many people about.

"I'm scared Sansa." No one had even started the conversation. He just needed to say it. He didn't want to admit it, especially to his little sister but he was terrified. Terrified of losing him, terrified knowing that he had caused all of this.

Theon didn't deserve any of this. Yes, he could be a complete asshole sometime and he did lack responsibility but that didn't deserve to be tortured by a maniac who also happens to brand people as his own.

He didn't know what would be worse once tomorrow was over. Finding the body and knowing it would be there or having to face the Greyjoy family and not knowing what the hell to expect. He would readily accept death for when Yara came at him with whatever sharp item happened to be the closest to her person. Theon's sister loved him and when she went into her sister mode there was no stopping her.

Sansa was making a cup of tea and by the tone of voice he was using she got out another mug and another rose flavoured teabag she had gotten from Margaery. It was clear that they were going to have to have a talk. While the kettle was boiling she sat down on the small space that was left on the sofa beside him.

"I'm going to tell you a story. About me and Joffrey." She said while the memories began to cloud her eye sight.

The Lannister's were a touchy subject for everyone in the Stark Family but by far the one you didn't mention was Joffrey. Sansa and Joffrey had been 'Sweethearts' in high school and then when they had left that's when things had taken a turn for the worst. Joffrey became unstable, more unstable than usual. He began to hit Sansa and then things got really crazy. He would make her watch as he tortured animals right in front of her and he would come home drunk with random prostitutes.

Sansa was beaten really badly one time and then the angel known as Margaery Tyrell had come down and saved her. She had been able to get Joffrey to forget all about her and to her utter surprise he hadn't tried to contact her since. Apparently he had gotten himself into hospital after getting a bad case of food poising from a pie. He had been in there for over two weeks.

"When I was with him I was so scared that I would die. I would be beaten into nothing but a bloody pulp. There was one thing that kept me going. The thought of you and mum and everyone else. As long as Theon thinks about you then he'll find the strength to keep going." She reassured him. Everyone had supported her after she got out, even Theon had helped her by taking her out on a relaxing boat trip along the Narrow Sea. When Theon got back, which she knew was going to happen, she was going to help him like he had helped her. It was the least she could do to repay his kindness.

"Memories won't stop a knife." He knew where she was coming from and the emotional side of things but he knew that Theon wouldn't be able to defend himself from when Ramsay decided to kill him.

"You got me out before Joffrey killed me. You'll get Theon before this Mister X kills him."

"Thanks Sansa." An accidental yawn escaped him. He was more tired than he would admit. Sansa caught him in the act and was up off the sofa and grabbing his arm to drag him straight to bed. "Go to bed Robb. The sooner you get sleep the sooner you get back out there." She said in the best convincing voice she could. She had been spending way too much time with Petyr and learning his tricks of the trade.

It seemed that it worked as Robb was about to open his mouth to say something but then he lost whatever words he was going to use, he closed it promptly. As their mother said 'You'll catch flies if you keep it open.

"You're right. There's still one day left and we can hunt him down. Hunt him down like a dog."

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Reek, I'm going out for a bit. I'll be back soon. Don't go anywhere." Ramsay said as he looked down at Theon one more. It was getting to his fortnight deadline but he had made up his mind about what to do. Normally he would have gotten bored but Theon as providing him with too much fun to just kill him like he had done with the others. His plan was so close to completion but he just needed the final element for it to be completed.

Ramsay had been saying that a lot recently and Theon hadn't the slightest idea why. His first instinct was to think that he had found someone else to play with but he knew that he could just as well be planning more torture for him.

Ramsay had been kind enough to leave Theon a whole two slices of bread and some out of date ham. Theon was too hungry to care and ate it in a second flat. He knew it was against his better judgement and that he should preserve it but his basic human instincts were taking a hold.

When he heard Ramsay go up the steps as usual he waited for all the routine sounds like clockwork. He feared that he would turn around and scold him for making such quick work of the sandwich but nothing happened. He heard the slamming of the door as usual.

Something was off. A sound was missing. A sound of a door being locked. Theon had to take a moment to look up and sure enough it was slightly a jar. Theon couldn't physically believe it. Out of all the ways he escapes it was because the door hadn't been closed properly. Ramsay had forgotten to do the one thing that was keeping him there. Theon wasted no time whatsoever, he was going to get out of this hellhole as soon as he could.

His legs were weak but the drive at the closeness of his freedom was driving him to ignore his body pains and get up the steps as fast as he could. He scrapped his hands of the splintered wood in the steps but it was minimal compared to what Ramsay had been doing to him. A little wood in his flesh was better than being chained to it again.

Before he gripped on the handle he had to stop himself, his hand hovering over it while shaking. It seemed to perfect an opportunity. He considered the possibilities that it was possibly one of Ramsay's sick and twisted games. A test of some kind for his loyalty to him. Bolton would have been clever enough to know that this type of trick would work. If Ramsay caught him he would be tortured again but if he didn't he was going to get tortured again anyway.

He couldn't do it anymore, he had to run.

As he swung open the door he repeated the words of his religion in his head. 'What is dead may never die' If he got out of here alive he was going to make it his personal mission to burn the church of the drowned god for putting him though this yet he also felt that if he was able to get out of there he would pray to him every day for saving him.

When he reached the top of the steps it wasn't what he was expecting at all. It was the exact opposite of the basement. This was a modern home which had electricity, heating and no bugs whatsoever. He could have laughed at the fact that he had been living so comfortably while he had been suffering a couple of meters away.

He nearly choked on the clean air when it reached his lungs. It was so clean and pure unlike the rotting stench of death he had been exposed to constantly for the past nearly two weeks. He had to double over and gag for a second, trying to adjust to the sensation. There were only two smells that Theon knew well. The salt of the sea and the grass of the forest. He could tell it was the forest instantly. He would kill to breath sea air once again.

When he recovered he picked himself back up and tried to locate the door. He house was pretty big, he supposed it made sense seeing as his father was Roose Bolton. Another thing that he noticed was how many official boxes of work there seemed to be. Roose wasn't kidding when he said that he had a lot of papers to sort though. Theon began to wonder whether he was in Ramsay's own home of if it was his fathers.

He tried the front door and miraculously out seemed to be open. He didn't know whether he had any security cameras around the house. He looked back around, back to the basement door. He could go back now and Ramsay wouldn't have to know. Theon was mentally at a cross road again. He knew that he could be free but something in his mind was stopping him form leaving. Ramsay's influence had seeped into his mind but Theon was too stubborn to acknowledge it.

Theon didn't know what to expect what he saw when he ran outside but too only see a desolate wood and darkness made his eyes widened even more not with shock but with worry. He was essential stuck in the middle of god knows where and he had no clue of where he was going.

He took a moment so that he could breathe and try to figure out his situation. He thought of what Robb would do in this situation but he kept on hearing what he said on the tape over and over. 'Stupid Northerner'. The funny thing was he didn't know if he was talking about Robb or himself at this point. He began running in to the woods thinking he would be able to get out of it quickly. His brain wasn't exactly thinking straight.

That's when it hit him.

He was born in Pyke, so naturally he always had a natural instinct as to where North was he looked around for a moment and when he felt right he began to run once more. Going north would bring him home. He should've really been walking as if he fell and broke something it would be the end of the game for him. Then again he'd rather risk breaking something on his own accord then having Ramsay break it for him.

He continued this way for about 20 minutes. He had gotten far but all of his efforts were about to be lost.

As Theon was running a small unrooted branch caused him to trip over and hit his head, luckily for Theon the only damage that was cause was unconsciousness. As he lay there going in and out of consciousness he tried to keep himself awake but like all things in his time with Ramsay they all faded to black eventually.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A branch. That had been what had awoken the Greyjoy when it fell from its tree and hit him smack in the middle of the face. When Theon moved his eyes he saw that he was still in the same location as he had left it. He rested his head back on the ground out of gratitude that Ramsay hadn't found him. Theon had no idea how long he had been unconscious for but he hoped it had only been for a couple of minutes. Unaware to him he had been lying there for over 4 hours. And Ramsay had just arrived home with his new friend. Needless to say when he found out that his pet was missing he flipped the fuck out. He got his newest hostage ready and then was searching frantically for him. He screamed his name, both new and old in the hopes that he would at least be scared enough to respond.

Ramsay tore the house apart thinking that he could be hiding anywhere. After throwing everything everywhere and essentially screwing up his father's paperwork he ran a hand through his hair and gave a psychotic laugh. He could see what Theon was doing.

This was a game of hide and seek.

Ramsay laughed at the delight that Theon had provided him with. Oh yes, this was going to be a very fun game. Seeing as Theon had a head start it only seemed fitting that get an advantage as well. Contrasting to before he was no longer angrily stomping about the place but instead had a spring in his step as he made his way around to the kennels.

With a part of Theon's clothes he held it up to his dog's noses and they began to bark viciously.

He unlocked the door.

Theon had gotten up again and began walking along. He didn't have the strength to run so he preserved his energy for when he needed it later on.

He heard something. It wasn't footsteps it was more like an animal running though the leaves. A dog perhaps. As soon as he took a moment to listen he heard something in the not very far away distance. He breathed a sigh of relief as it was just a dog barking. The longer he listened the closer it got and the more frequent it became.

The barking got more vicious and then another much more terrifying noise followed. One that struck fear into his heart more than any animal could.

"Good girls, now got fetch my Reek." The voice seemed to echo for eternity though the forest but Theon only took it in for a second before he used the strength he had been saving up to run as fast as he could.

Theon began running as fast as his weakened body could allow him to. He guessed that the bag of dog food in the basement now made sense. He only got a quick glimpse of the dogs and they were mongrels, of what type he didn't know but his teeth gave him a good indication that he should be very afraid.

The dogs were pinning him down and barking loudly into his ear but they only seemed to be nipping at his arms to keep him down. These dogs had been specially trained for hunting. Robb had told him about them one time. They had been tried to keep the suspect from moving but they didn't need to maim him. They were strong enough to do that on their own.

He could see the figure approaching closer and he tried to run away but each time he tried to move the dogs would swipe their paws at him to keep him in line. It was eventually when he heard a whistle that they stopped. Theon's weak body tried to move but instead of an animal paw holding him it was a human hand. Ramsay's hand.

"I can't leave you for 10 seconds can I?" He said jokingly as he looked him dead in the eyes, unblinking. Like the leader of the gang of dogs looking at the unfortunate prey.

He picked Theon up with ease and brought him back to the prison he had been trapped in for almost two weeks, he was squirming to get out but Ramsay laughed at his pitiful attempt at an escape. Ramsay was glad to see that fear but it was getting annoying at this point. He wanted him to be broken but he wasn't quite there yet. He had no doubts in his mind that the next game would break him totally or at least push him further to there.

When Ramsay was bringing him back to the house. He noticed how Ramsay's car boot was open. It looked like he had brought somethings home. A sweat drop began to form when after a closer looked he saw two zip ties that had been cut. It hadn't been a thing it had been someone.

He didn't get much for the scene except that the person had partially bled out in the back of the trunk.

"Why are you trying to escape me Theon?" Ramsay asked with a half convincing heartbroken sigh.

"Please master I'm sorry." Theon said in the most sorry and humble voice he could muster. If he grovelled hard enough then Ramsay might just go easy on him. With that said Ramsay going easy was the equivalent of having skin removed while still conscious.

As Theon could see the ominous stairs looming he was desperate not to go back there. His eyes searched from side to side looking for any excuse not to. He gulped and asked the first thing that had popped into his mind. "Who's here?"

Ramsay stopped in his tracks. "What are you talking about?"

"I saw zip ties. In the back of your car." Thein braced himself to be dropped on the ground. Instead of a slap to the already injured head he received a light pat on it.

"Oh yes. Well perceived Reek. I was just thinking that it's been awfully lonely and two player games get a bit dull after a while. I brought one of your friends to help us play the next game." There were a million possibilities that it could have been but he didn't want it to be any of them. He didn't doubt that Ramsay had obviously gotten someone very close to him. A new way to

Ramsay could see he was trying to distract himself from it so he decided that he would bring him back to reality. His reality.

"Oh Theon, you were about to miss our next game. I brought someone special to play." He said in the sadistic singsong tone. Theon didn't know who it could be but he didn't want to know. He prayed it wasn't Yara. He couldn't deal with her seeing him in such a vulnerable state.

Ramsay walked out leaving him bound to the post and walked into another room just beside it. To Theon it just seemed like a giant mirror but from where Ramsay was currently standing it looked like a giant window. One way glass was a wonderful thing. It made for interesting torture methods. Roose originally had it installed for his own use but since Roose didn't really need it Ramsay was making sure that it didn't go to waste.

Ramsay poked the body he had tied to the chair in an attempt at getting them to wake up. He had to admit that it had been a hassle to get her here but then again the she was told by his father that she was a handful normally. And a royal pain in the ass to work with.

"Catelyn, it's time to wake up, we have a game to play with Theon."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What will happen in Ramsay's next game? And how is the Lady of Winterfell involved? Find out next time.


	9. The Two Room Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catelyn, Theon and Ramsay all play a little game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for this chapter: Very Graphic Rape.
> 
> Happy Easter also. I put 100% into this chapter and I would really love feedback on it if you don't mind.

Cat was never a heavy drinker.

True, she appreciated a good gin now and again and she was also fond of a good scotch but she hadn't had any recently. So why she was waking up with a major headache was a mystery to her. It didn't feel like a drinking headache though.

As she became aware of her surroundings she became aware that she wasn't in her normal home at Winterfell. She tried to remember that the hell she had been doing last and while her memories were foggy she defiantly could recall herself bringing out the groceries to the car and then a noise of rustling leave then nothing. It was like something out of a bad horror movie.

She tried to move her hands but the seemed to be restricted by something. When she woke up more she could see what it was keeping her hands restrained. Two rather thick straps of leather. This acted as her wakeup call and that's when her thrashing truly started.

During her attempted escape she heard a small snicker, almost as if someone was enjoying seeing her struggle. "I see you've finally woken up." It came from the direction that the sicker had as well.

There was a man in the room with her but only now had he chosen to come into the light. He was wearing a mask that covered the majority of his face. Catelyn wouldn't be able to identify him at all.

Before he could come any closer to her she growled for a moment and stared him down.

"I will kill you with my bare hands." She didn't even have to think about it. She wasn't going to be intimidated by anyone. Especially some sick person who had chained her up.

"But if you kill me then who'll play the game with Theon? Only I know the rules." Ramsay loved that few couple of seconds before the penny dropped with his victims. Catelyn's heart stopped for a moment. She realised that Theon had really been kidnapped by this mad man. She thought that it had been Theon just running off but she guessed that this just proved her wrong.

"This is a one way mirror. You can see Theon but he can't see you. The game is simple. I will leave this door open but you must resist the temptation to come into the room. If you come in I will kill him. Got it?" He had thought all of this out and he knew it would work. If it didn't then he'd have to find two new people to play with.

He flicked the switch and waited for Catelyn's reactions.

She had originally been planning to kill him with her bare hand but what she saw completely stopped her and any plans of escape. The light revealed all.

Catelyn was able to get a proper look at Theon now and she immediately began to regret every time she had bad mouthed him and wished he was dead. It was the worst she had ever seen him. She had worked part time in social services and she had seen children who had been neglected who had looked exactly like. It was even more terrifying to see it on an adult. Skin and bones was the only way to describe him. Filthy could have also been used as well to describe both his body and his hair.

"The key to get out of the chains is in your pocket. Only use it when I say or the both of you die. I can't stand cheaters." It was extremely annoying when people disobeyed his games but yet when he screwed other people over he found it the most hilarious thing in the world.

"Why are you doing this?" Her eyes never left Theon for a moment. She wanted to make sure he was still breathing but she saw the chest raising ever so slowly. Malnutrition could cause breathing problems and she doubted he was kind enough to get him to a hospital.

"I'll go tell Theon the rules of the game now." He left the room completely ignoring her question.

Ramsay re-entered in the room where Theon was situated. He hadn't been in this room before but it was weird. He was sat facing a huge mirror. It looked like the interrogation room where Robb would sometimes bring him into the station for great make out sessions.

Ramsay had turned off the sound so Catelyn wouldn't be able to hear what he was going to say to Theon, the specific rules he would be implementing for him. He had a feeling that Theon had been here long enough to know that he should follow the rules perfectly.

Theon was tied to a chair and there was also a table in the room. He didn't know what he was planning but he could guess that this game was going to be especially brutal. Theon thought that maybe since it looked like a police set up then maybe he was going to do some kind of torture interrogation.

"Okay Theon I'm going to explain how his game works. I have Catelyn Stark in the other room, the door is open. If you say the word, I'll let you go but she'll have to take your place. She seems a lot feistier then you. Might even give me a better fight. Breaking her would be fun. "

Theon had gotten pretty good at telling when Ramsay was fucking around and when he was deadly serious and he knew that Cat was in the room next to him. He then put together it was a one way mirror. Cat could see him but she could see him. She was looking at his wrecked body.

"Also imagine how Robb would feel. You trading your place for the mother. How pathetic." Ramsay was just twisting the knife now, taking a hit at both his confidence and his love for Robb.

He had been here for about two weeks and over that time Ramsay had reinforced the message of how pathetic he was. He was starting to believe it himself. He had gotten himself into the situation too. Ramsay had even coined a small rhyme about it 'Reek, Reek it rhymes with weak.' Like a virus it had physically implanted into his brain and was festering into his subconscious.

He didn't know what to do. Freedom was the only thing he wanted. He would give anything for it but not Robb's happiness. Even if Robb didn't love him anymore he still loved Robb and he knew that he wouldn't put Catelyn thought this.

True, he and Catelyn didn't have the best relationship in seven kingdoms but Ramsay was something that no one else should be exposed to. "What do you want me to do?" He asked knowing he wouldn't like whether he agreed or not.

"Scream and look at the mirror." He whispered in his ear. Theon could guess that the screaming would be involuntary.

Ramsay had designed it so that Theon would be forced to see him on top of him while looking directly at Catelyn in the process as she watched as he broke underneath him. Ramsay always liked to think of himself as the game master and his rules meant that everyone who wasn't him had to suffer for his amusement.

And the sexual aspect of all of this was long overdue for Ramsay. He had kept him for two weeks watching him waste away, listen to him scream and seen his resistance. He was ready to do this.

"Let the game begin."

As soon as the bolts of the chair were undone he was thrown onto a table he had brought into the room. Theon assumed he would bring out the knife and sure enough he brought out the blade that had already been introduced to his skin many times before but this time instead of going for his skin he went for the rags that Ramsay had provided him with.

The knife cut them swiftly and the top half of his body was revealed to her. She thought that his face was the worst that she could see but was proven wrong when her eyes were made witness to the practically mangled mess that was his torso. The knife marks and showing ribs were enough to make even the strongest of men gag but it was the branded X mark that made her physically throw up. It didn't look healthy at all, it was a very sickly yellow and the top had slightly crystallised with a red rim around the edges.

She was so entrapped by the markings on his body it took her a moment to even realise that Ramsay was in the process of taking of his trousers.

Theon knew what he wanted at this point and what he was going to do. He would have been fighting but it was Ramsay. He was going to do what he liked with him regardless of what he said or did. He also knew well enough at this point that he had probably rigged it so that Catelyn was tied down or something so she physically couldn't come in. Catelyn had already gotten the key and unchained herself.

Catelyn wanted to do many things. She wanted to bang against the glass to let Theon know that she was there, she wanted to rush in there and smash his face into an unrecognisable pulp but most of all she wanted to just hold him and tell him that he was going to be okay and that Robb was going to find them both now.

A vague recollection of Robb telling her that it was the second week that this Mr X killed his victim. If she wasn't mistaken tonight would be the final night of Theon Greyjoy's life. It dawned on her that this was it. He was going to torture then kill him and she would be the star witness.

She ran over to the door but then stopped herself. If she stayed put then Mister X said he would spare him. She didn't care what she had to do or if she had to take his place. She would do it without a second thought.

Ramsay dropped his own pants and the reality of the situation became real to Theon. He was going to be raped in front of his future mother in law and likely be killed afterwards. He was welcoming death at this point. If they got out of there alive he didn't think that he could look at Catelyn ever again.

The scream that left his lips as he made the first push in shocked both Catelyn and Ramsay. Ramsay because it had been the loudest and most pained he had heard it while Catelyn was shocked at the horror of it all. He sounded like a banshee and there was sobbing. Good god there was sobbing. And pleading as well, pleading for Ramsay to get off of him.

He wasn't going to lie. He and Robb had done it a lot of times before. More than he would like to admit but Robb had been a total gentleman during all of it. They had gone at a speed which suited both of them. He had also had the luxury of having lube readily available, Ramsay was only going to be using blood as the thing that would try to ease Theon's pain.

Reality sucker punched him in the face when he felt Ramsay's canine like teeth sink into his shoulder. He had drawn blood and was in the process of licking it. Catelyn was disgusted by this as well, he was like some kind of cannibal.

Theon was too frightened to move. If he did move he would be free from all of this. He could once again feel the ocean salt against his lips. Cat on the other had would have to feel everything he had felt and more. She was considerably older than him and he had an inkling that even though she could sass the ear off him to hell and back it wouldn't be enough to withstand the torture he was put though.

Ramsay quickened his pace, making sure to make it as excruciating as possible.

Theon didn't mean for the quiet moan to escape. He tried to cover his mouth to silence himself but Ramsay was quick and had already caught onto the involuntary sexual noise. Ramsay stopped for a moment to savour the moment, he had finally gotten his pet to do something for him.

"Do you hear that Catelyn? He likes it. Tell me I'm so much better than Robb ever was." He said the venom dripping of his snake like tongue. Theon's cried were muffled as he tried to smash his face on the table to cover the fact that his body was reacting to him in this way.

"You are so much better then….then..." Theon was struggling to get it out due to the pain of Ramsay still ploughing into him and it felt like the ultimate emotional betrayal. He still had no idea if what Robb was saying on the tape was true but if it was he would feel only a slight bit better about the moment.

Ramsay wasn't a man of patients when it came to answering him so he slammed his head down and went in really close to his head so that his lips just brushed the top of his ear. "Say it or I'll knock your teeth out." He said as a warning, he then bit the ear in a sexual way once more making Theon make noises he didn't want to be making.

He had been pitifully grovelling but none quite as much as now. "You're so much better then Robb master. Please." Theon couldn't see Catelyn's eyes but he'd bet anything that she despised him in this moment. He'd just said that in front of her and there was now ways that she'd forgive him. He was cheating on her son right in front of her eyes. From his point of view he was letting him do it to keep her safe so he translated this as technically consenting. That was the way Theon saw it however from where Catelyn was seated she could see more clearly what was going on. Ramsay was forcing him to do it.

"I'm so sorry Cat!" He pleaded proceeding to avoid eye contact with her by looking down at the table as Ramsay continued the dirty work. This wasn't worse in terms of pain that Ramsay had inflicted onto him but in terms of what it was doing to him mentally it was more devastating then everything combined.

Catelyn shuddered to think that Theon had been tortured to such a point he was apologising for this when none of this was his fault. It was creepy when she thought about it, he was apologising for being attacked.

Cat tried to cry out but she knew that she would have to stay silent or he would die. If there was any way to get out of this with both of them alive she would've found it by now Catelyn was a woman who took action and when she wasn't able to that was when she panicked. Much like Ramsay she needed to have control of the events that surrounded her.

"Look at him Catelyn, I know your trying to look away." Ramsay said as he made a particularly hard thrust, making the body underneath him squirm.

He was silently crying as Ramsay kept the promise to fuck him into the dirt. Or rather into submission.

Catelyn didn't like Theon but she couldn't stand this. It was a sickening display. She couldn't see his face throughout the attack and she didn't recognise his voice at all. While he was at the police station Ramsay had changed his voice to sound a lot higher than it really was. For this he was using his actual voice.

None of them had any idea how much longer that it continued but Ramsay would say he had done long enough that Theon had stopped all of his crying and was just lying there with short breaths as he made short sobs and waited for it to end.

Catelyn could see how his body reacted when Ramsay finally did him the mercy of finishing up. It made the worst sound. It was a squelching with a hint of Theon breathlessness as well.

As Ramsay pulled away from Theon lay there and tried to process what had just happened. He had just brutally fucked before the mother of his ex-fiancé. How is anyone meant to react to that situation? Before Theon's shaking body could move an inch he felt Ramsay grab his head and slam it down hard into the table, promptly knocking him out.

"You can come in now. The game is over." Ramsay said looking straight at her. His eyes then cast themselves back down to his handy work. That had been one of the most fun things he had done in a while. He never thought that having an audience could be that much fun but he was proven wrong.

Catelyn didn't need to even hear the end of the sentence before she was in there looking at the mess that befell her eyes. His injuries somehow managed to look worse up close, the only difference was she was all out of stomach contents so throwing up was impossible at this point.

"Oh my god, Theon." She tried waking him up but it was clear he was out cold. She quickly checked his pulse just to make sure he was still alive. When she heard a rapid thumping so breathed a sigh of relief.

"I doubt he's going to hear you at all but do whatever makes you happy." He said as he waited by the door with an apple in hand, crunching loudly and completely disregarding the emotions that she was feeling.

She didn't even acknowledge he was in there. She tried to wipe the wetness from around his eyes. He had cried so much during all of it. "I did what you wanted now let him free." Cat said holding his head hoping he would wake up so she could tell him that he was okay and that he was going to be free from all of it.

"I have already done my part." Ramsay said taking another bite out of the apple.

Cat was confused. She knew he was crazy but what he was saying didn't make any sense.

"He's free… from the X isn't he?" He said pointing his knife over to the X

She had wanted him to go away but she never wished this upon him. She wouldn't wish this treatment upon the Lannister's let alone the man her son was going to marry. There was a tremendous amount of guilt that she was feeling for not being able to save him.

She didn't cry easily but she was going to burst into tears at the sight of him.

"Cat…" Theon said half consciously. His brain was like static at the moment. All fuzzy with no idea of what was going on, the only reason he said Cat was because it was the last thing he saw before blacking out. He wasn't aware that she was the one holding his head and comforting him. All he knew was that it smelt like Robb and that was enough to comfort him.

"Theon. It's going to be okay. We're going to get you out of here. It's okay."

This was exactly like the time she had comforted him when he was younger and Ned had brought him home for the first time away from the bastard of a father Balon. She had held his head and told him to be a strong boy and that he was so brave. He didn't exactly look like a strong boy at the moment but he knew that the strong boy was in there somewhere and he needed to be brought out.

Theon stirred more as she spoke and Ramsay knew he had to intervene. He couldn't have Catelyn telling him that Robb still cared. She heard Ramsay coming up behind her swiftly when she turned her head she was met with a metal crowbar to the head. It was an instantaneous knock out. He had gotten good at knowing how much force to use on a person when using it.

Since Ramsay deciding he was going to keep Theon he needed the police to stop looking for him. What better way to do it then by faking Theon's death for him. And how better to do it then by having a witness to go back and tell them.

Now just to get everything set up.

Theon was unfortunately the first of the two to wake up. His head was still messed up but he felt a small shred of comfort as he felt warm clothes back onto his body and he wasn't bent over a table. He could tell that he was chained to a chair ad something felt wrong with his abdomen, like there was something squidgy on it. He saw red and assumed it was him who was bleeding. When he didn't feel any pain he only got more confused about the entire situation.

"Theon, If you play dead I'll let her go. If you don't I'll let you go." He said as he seemed to tighten something around his waist.

Theon instantly knew his answer. He wasn't going to let anyone else endure this type of treatment. He nodded and Ramsay filled him in on what was going to happen as soon as Cate woke up. As Ramsay told him the plan he got sicker with each passing moment.

When Cat woke up again she was bound to the chair once more but this time Theon was tied to a chair opposite her. He looked a wreck with his head hanging low to avoid her gaze. He didn't want to see the shame that would burn in her eyes.

Cat tried to think of what to say but nothing came to mind.

Ramsay held the knife up to show her that it was indeed real. He made a small cut on her forehead and she made a painful sounding scream, Theon still didn't look up. If he did anything that might upset his master then it would only end well for Ramsay.

Without a second's warning he plunged it into the fake blood bag he had put onto him. Catelyn screamed as she saw it happening. The illusion was all too realistic for her. She honestly believed that one of her own had died before his own eyes. It just kept on pouring out of him like sand out of a sandbag. She thought she had seen the worst but this was took the cake. She somehow managed to throw up even more.

Theon upon seeing this freaked out and screamed at the top of his lungs before promptly fainting and giving him the illusion of having been killed right in front of her. It was warm and did feel like realistic blood. He guessed it must have been from either another animal or another person.

"You said you'd free him." He heard her say though her anger and sadness.

"I did. I freed him from this life." He was often used to fucking people of with the way he manipulated his words. That sweet little victory was so delicious to him.

"You bastard." There was no joy of being rid of him. She thought she would enjoy Theon leaving her son but not in this way. Robb was the only one who could fix him after this. Theon wasn't confident in himself at all and this had likely destroyed any part of him that was still clinging on.

"Well, while that's true I suppose you're glad he's dead. Now your son can move on. Also with his death you get to live." He tried to make it seem like a good thing. She had been one of the few people to survive his game and that was a rare achievement by most people who met him.

Cat had to admit that the only other time she had let herself cry this hard was when she thought that she had lost Bran after the incident. She only cried when she lost one of her children and right now Theon was like her child.

Ramsay was bored by the tears seeing as they were common by the women he brought here. They were all the genetic 'Don't kill me sir' and 'Let me live'. They had amused him for a while but lost their charm after the first couple of times. Cat seemed different but he had enough self-discipline learnt from his father that he shouldn't keep her.

He whispered in her ear gently. "The best part is he could have stopped it too but he wanted you to live. Don't you feel like a bitch now?"

She couldn't deal with this new information. Theon had gone through all of that just to save her. She didn't want to admit it but before these events she would have let him take her place. Theon had used his body to save her. She grasped his head heard and cradled him whispering how sorry she was for everything.

"Anyway, it's been lovely but you really have to get home. Sansa and Robb are worried sick." He said as one again he was behind her as she was in her distraught state. This time instead of a surprise blow to the head he instead used the small drop of chloroform. She was out pretty much instantly seeing as how her body had gone through a lot in one sitting.

Theon was awake to see him dragging the body away by the ankle. She looked like a lifeless corpse.

"Don't…" Theon said praying that he wasn't going to do what he had just done there now. Ramsay looked confused for a moment then back down to the body he was dragging. He only laughed when he copped onto what Theon was saying.

"I'm not going to do anything like that, no she's much too old for my taste. My father on the other hand would have loved to take her. Should have invited him over before sending her back. Oh well, my father's a dick anyway I'm sure he'll live without it." He rambled to himself.

Theon was at rock bottom, the only person he had seen in two weeks who wasn't master or his father and she was being taken away to go tell the world he was dead. No one was going to come save him after this. This was going to be his life the rest of his numbered days.

Just as Ramsay picked up her body he looked at Theon one last time. He had shown his loyalty to him by both not leaving the room and by doing as he said concerning the blood bag and death scene. He was proud of how his little project was coming along.

"Well done Reek, I'll reward you when I get back. With a bath I think. And a meal too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed it.


	10. The Memory Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catelyn tells Robb what went down

Robb was aware of a dull poking at his arm but he was so tired that he simply tried to ignore it, that was until the poking evolved into a harder poke and then into a soft punch until he woke up. He thought to himself for a moment that it was Theon in bed with him and he was going to roll over and give him a playful kiss but then he remembered that he wasn't there.

"Why….." He groaned as he rolled over and tried to go back to sleep and forget how he was missing his loved one. He then saw it was about 12 at night. He assumed that it had been only a couple hours of sleep. Then his eyes floated down to the day and it was official the final day of Theon's capture.

His eyes opened fully and saw who the cause of him waking up was. It turned out to be Sansa.

"You've been asleep for over 12 hours. I wanted to make sure you were still breathing." She said jokingly but then the joke seemed to have been completely ignored as he looked around for his things.

"Sansa, tell Cat I'm going back to work." With a great jump in his step he sprang out of his bed. Now realising the time and frantically looking around for his keys. He didn't realise that he had slept in that late. He was worried that he had wasted precious time and that something might have happened and he wouldn't have heard about it. If it wasn't for Sansa already being near the ground she surly would have fallen over.

Sansa watched from the door, knowing that there was no way she would be able to stop him seeing as he had the determined gleam in his eyes.

"Robb she hasn't come home yet." She said looking to the side uncomfortable. She had been gone a while and she really just wanted her back so she could speak some sense into her son. It was disturbing to see him being like this.

Robb looked at her like she was crazy. "That's weird." He knew that Cat could be busy with work sometimes but she had said that she only went out for a couple of groceries. It shouldn't have taken this many hours. Even Jon had come back with Rickon and Brandon and it would always take longer now because they had to take into account Bran's wheelchair.

Robb shook his head to refocus himself. He packed a couple of essentials because he felt like it could be a long night at the station. He also made sure that he packed himself a pack of tissues. If they found his body tonight then he knew he would weep long into the night. He had done it so many times before but the reality of seeing his cold dead body would demolish him.

Sansa and her older brother were standing at the door when they heard the frantic knocking, almost banging. Like a wounded animal needed to be let in to be saved from some kind of predator. Sansa was the one to answer but when she saw who it was she wish she hadn't.

Cat was standing there clearly breathless and her head was bleeding and it was clear as day that she had been crying. Sansa nearly screamed and this brought both Jon and Robb to the door as well. When they looked Catelyn up and down Jon brought out his gun to check outside while Robb and Sansa helped their shaking mother inside.

"Catelyn! What happened?" Jon asked concerned for his adoptive mother. She was shaking so badly, everyone could see her hands. It was like she was possessed and couldn't control herself.

They were also able to pick up on how here breathing was a mix between shallow and terrified. When they successfully got her seated Sansa was the first to call the police, she got connected though to Podrick who said that he and Brienne would be at least 20 minutes. She then got some minor medical supplies to help with the bleeding forehead she had.

They all gave her a moment to calm down and try to recompose herself why they all tried to figure out what had happened. Jon had come back inside at this point and he was already trying to figure out what had happened. The main picture forming in his mind was that she possible get mugged and that would explain the bruised and bloody forehead.

When they turned up light they got a better look at Catelyn's dress and it was splattered with blood. Catelyn hadn't even noticed until now and she grabbed a tissue to try and wipe it away but it only seeped into her clothing even more.

Sansa brought out the towel and some water which Catelyn seemed thankful for. As soon as the cooling sensation of the cloth on her head she seemed to be able to speak a little bit. Robb wanted her to save her strength but she had that look in her eyes which meant she was going to do something she didn't want to do but did it anyway because it needed to be done.

"It was Theon…"

Those words stopped everyones hearts at that very moment. Jon's because she had seen Mr X, Sansa's because it meant she had been in danger and Robb's because it was confirmation that Theon was still alive.

It left them in silence for a minute to take in the information. When it had settled in Sansa was the first to recover and began to clean her up again. "Mum are you sure?" Sansa had to be a hundred and ten percent sure that it was true. She didn't want her hopes given up.

"Mister X captured me. He took me to see Theon." She was trying to remember though all the haziness of it. She knew that to be of any help she would have to remember as much as possible.

The other all looked at her but not with disbelief. They knew that Catelyn was a woman of honour and would never lie about anything, especially Theon given the situation.

"Robb, I couldn't…." She couldn't go on as the sound of his screams still were present despite her being so far away. Only know she was thinking of what she could have done to stop all of it. She should have gone in and beaten him within an inch of his life. It's what she could have done but she didn't and he had ended up paying the price.

"What happened? Take it slow." Jon assured her. He then took out his phone and fumbled out until he got his voice recorder app. If he could get a statement now it would be fresher in her memory and less likely to be forgotten when she probably went to the hospital to get stitches. It wasn't a pretty sight but it could have been a lot worse, she could have been forced to stay and play his twisted games.

Catelyn tried her best to recall everything that had happened. Step by step she recalled the whole incident. She began with the first thing she remembered, going to the store and buying chicken soup to keep Robb and Jon's strength up.

"I was getting groceries then he knocked me out. I woke up in his lair-Basement-thing I don't know." As she told them she could recollect the sour taste that overpowered her before she was out of it. She didn't know what drug it was but if she had to guess she would say chloroform. After hearing Ned and Jon talk about it over so many dinners she could assume that all the symptoms matched up. This slightly concerned Jon as chloroform could mess with the memories and if they did bring a suspect in they could say that she was under the influence and confused about who it really was.

"Did you see what he looked like?" This was the most important question to any investigation and if she could give a clear description then they would get closer to catching this son of a bitch.

Cat tried her best to remember the face she saw and what he looked like while he was assaulting Theon but she couldn't remember what the illusive Mr X's face. As much as she tried it was really all a blur to her.

"He defiantly had curly black hair and blue eyes. They were light blue, like ice." She knew she would never forget those eyes. They hadn't blinked once during the entire thing and it made her think she was some kind monster but she already knew that it was true. Jon wrote that down and sent a quick text to get the sketch artist up and get his ass down to the station now. He guessed that she wouldn't give them much else but it wouldn't hurt to get some kind of feeling for what he looked like.

"What did Theon look like?" Robb asked finally piping up. He needed to know how badly he had been treated so he would know how badly he would need to torture Mr X in return.

Catelyn was tempted not to tell him how bad he looked as he could tell his reaction. She couldn't lie to her son when he was in such a vulnerable state. "He was so sickly, he had knife marks and bruises all over his body and…. He had a branding mark." She added on the last part as she only just remembered the X shaped mark that had been left in his skin.

"God…" Robb couldn't picture how Theon would look sickly, he was always kept a nice shape with a combination of Sansa's Lemon cakes and his sister's homemade sea food meals and other various other food. The only time he looked sickly was when he drank too much and would go past his limit, spending the rest of the night in the bathroom with Robb patting his back and helping him get over the worst of it.

She had to take a drink of water before beginning the second half of it. She didn't want to choke up or begin crying again. She needed to be strong for Robb, for her son.

"We were in separate rooms but there was a two way mirror, it belonged to the city police department." From her memory he could picture it in her mind and in one of the times she wanted to look away her eyes focused on a small logo of the Kings Landing Police Station.

This was when Jon and Robb looked at each other with the em 'Oh fuck'/em look. "He has ties with the police? He's someone on the force?! God damn it." This was when Robb first felt anger since they found Catelyn. If it was someone who had been on the team or someone he had worked with he would slaughter them.

Jon and Sansa could tell that Robb was on the verge of losing it so Sansa nodded for her cousin to intervene. Jon panicked but just said the first thing that came to mind.

"We'll get a full, proper statement later but what happened next?" Jon had no idea the mental pain that he was inflicting onto her when he said it. This was the part that Catelyn had been dreading. She knew that telling him he was dead would be the least painful part of it. Robb would have at least been expecting that. Robb had mentioned how he should prepare for the worst as Theon would likely be killed if they couldn't get him.

"He raped him." She saw no point in sugar coating it for him. When they did find his body they would find the marks anyway, there was no reason not to tell him. Except maybe the emotional impact.

Robb who had been pacing stopped as he got to the window. His hand pressed firmly on it to support him. Out of all things that he pictured Theon going through he had never pictured him being under someone else. The reports had never mentioned Mister X doing anything sexual with his victims so he had a small relief that he wouldn't have to experience anything like that. With the knowledge that he had been forced to do it in front of his mother made him sick to his stomach.

Catelyn tried to calm herself. His screams were still ringing loudly in her ears. She was glad that she would never have to hear them again. They had been more bloodcurdling then when she had watched the tape of Ned being killed.

"He made me watch as he was crying and begging for him to stop... I think he thought he was consenting." She said as she tried her best to recount the events. Her not being able to remember anything that could help was adding more to the guilt, it meant that they wouldn't get any closer to finding him.

Robb wanted her to stop talking. He could see vividly the picture of what had went down in his mind and he wanted it to stop. He had heard Theon scream only when he had experienced a repressed memory from childhood or when he had a nightmare about losing Robb. He could just picture what he constantly screaming would be like and how terrifying it would be for him. He didn't work for the special victims unit but he had heard similar stories of how even though they had been forced to do it they still were under the illusion that they had somehow given consent.

There had really only been one other time that was even close to this and that was when Theon was drunk at a bar and a girl started to get a bit to flirty and tried to drag him off to do god knows what to him. Thankfully Robb had been there to stop her robbing him or doing anything worse. It had been scary for the both of them. He never thought that anything worse could happen.

If there was a way that Robb could switch places with Theon and get him away he would do it in a heartbeat. No one should have endured that and everything that happened before hand.

"You couldn't have done anything." Jon said reassuring her that it was a bad situation and what she did meant that she lived and got back to them. Catelyn didn't hear him, she was a little preoccupied at the moment. Catelyn was now the one trying to calm down her son instead of the other way around.

"What happened once he was done that?" Robb said wanting this story to be over with as soon as possible. Catelyn knew what her soon was thinking and got the next part out as soon as she could.

"He…knocked me out again and then he stabbed Theon in the stomach and left him to bleed out. I saw him die. He said that the second week was done and he had grown bored of him. He said he didn't normally do this but he liked to have a witness this time." She was only assuming at this point because she had seen him and she never thought she could fully understand his motivations.

They all looked to Robb at this point. A knife to the chest wouldn't hurt as much as this. Even a barrage of arrows to the back would be less painful. Mister X would be dead where he stood. He didn't care if it took him the rest of his life he would get retribution for what he had done to his family.

Robb's body began to violently tremble. He had prepared how he would feel if it happened but now that the situation was a reality he didn't know what he should be feeling. Bloody red rage was the main one. It was taking centre stage. The others could tell and everyone backed up form him a little to give him some room.

"Why me?" Catelyn asked as she tried to think of a million reasons why she would be the one forced to watch that act. She disliked Theon and couldn't think of why she was chosen. Then again the thought of her son having to go through that would be a psychological shit show.

"Because Mister X couldn't risk kidnapping Robb. He'd be too strong." Jon said. For Mr X even though it would have been for a hilarious laugh to him it would have been a ballsy move and it might pay off if Robb was somehow able to get the upper hand.

Robb was still in complete shock. The guilt that was the worst thing he had ever felt just amplified by at least 50%. Theon was a Greyjoy. He was as tough as iron and he shouldn't have been killed by some random serial killer. He was young too and he should have lived a long life with Robb. He should have spent more time with Yara and the Stark family. He and Catelyn should have at least been given the privilege to talk before he died. Now he wouldn't get any of that.

Cat was halted her silent weeping the best that she could. She could see that her eldest a child was breaking before her. She got up and placed her shaking hand carefully under his chin.

"You will find him. And when he gets to court I will make sure that my testimony will put him away so he can rot in prison. I don't care who I have to talk to I will make sure by the old gods and the new I will get him in prison." Jon said trying to find a way that he could make the situation better but he couldn't find the words.

"I thought you didn't like Theon." Sansa said quietly. Catelyn was guilty of that but then she explained loud and clearly why she did it. "He could have stopped Ramsay from doing it at any time but he told Theon that if he did he would do it to me instead. He went through that to save me." The only thing she wished was that she could have seen this side to Theon sooner.

Robb couldn't love Theon more than he did in this very moment. He didn't like Catelyn but he saved her from Ramsay's wrath. He just wanted to shout out that Theon was a stupid idiot and that he loved him all in the same moment.

Robb had already cried enough over the past couple of weeks. He didn't want to believe that Theon was gone but he had always trusted his mother's word when she saw something as it was always accurate.

Now something else was taking over his sadness. A rage like he hadn't known before. This pure primal instinct. A life that he had held dear to his heart had been taken in such a violent manner. Theon wasn't perfect and he had defiantly fucked up badly a couple of times and he should have thought about what he was doing but none of those were even deserving of what happened.

Thankfully for all of them a knocking at the door. Robb wanting to not think about anything was the first to get up to open it.

In front of them stood Brienne and Podrick. Only about 15 minutes later then they said they'd be. Podrick looked slightly nervous while Brienne was more concerned than anything. "Sorry we would have gotten here sooner but someone got us lost." She apologized while giving a sideways glance to Pod laughed nervously then silencing himself.

"I'm sorry Officer Tarth, I don't go to this area usually." He said explaining himself. It was clear that their attempt to lighten the mood didn't work as they all looked like they had just heard the worst thing they had heard in their lives.

"Anyway where's Catelyn?" Brienne said shocked as she just remembered the reason they were there in the first place.

She saw Catelyn fully and her first though was that she had been stabbed due to all the blood that was on her clothing but when she spoke in a normal tone of voice she knew she was okay. One thing was also visible to her as well. She had been though some kind of traumatic event and Brienne shuddered to think what it could have been.

"Lady Stark what happened?" Catelyn was going to speak but she couldn't find the words. She didn't think that she could describe the event again. Jon knew that there was no more talking out of her tonight. They would do it another time but for now she needed medical treatment and proper rest.

_"It's a long story, we'll tell you on the way."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chap: Theon gets treated to a surpise


	11. The Romance Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ramsay treats Theon while Rob and Jon have a heart to heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya, As some of you have cleverly noticed it says that there's going to be thirty chapters. Just keep in mind that it could change along the line. 
> 
> For those wondering what chapter Theon gets saved in: lol
> 
> Anyway please enjoy the next instalment of Iron Chain Game. This chapter is rate P for Pretty fucked up.

Theon had tried to sleep. He thought that sleeping it off would make him forget what had happened but every time he closed his eyes he mind would replay the memory of looking at himself in the mirror as Ramsay….

He didn't want to think about it. He was disgusted but at who was really confusing him. Of course a lot of his hate was placed onto Ramsay but a part of his brain was telling him he should have at least tried to fight back instead of just lying there and letting Ramsay fuck him. Oddly Ramsay had came into the basement in the morning and had drugged him which was a relief but it was where he was going that caused the panic. 

As he became aware of his surrounds there more it seemed out of place. He was waking up in a chair and he wasn't in the basement or the mirror room as Theon decided to call it. His vision came back to him and he assumed he was still dreaming. What was in front of him had to be a trick. It was too good to be true. Laid out before him was a huge dinner. It wasn't anything that fancy. 

Two steaks, a bowl of chips, mashed potatoes and a couple of vegetables. He wasn't a fan of fancy food but he was so hungry he didn't care. It all smelled so could he couldn't help but let a little bit of drool escape form his mouth. The vibrant colours was like something out of an overpriced cooking magazine and the smell was divine. 

"Please enjoy Reek, we're celebrating." He said from the kitchen suddenly as he saw that Theon was up and admiring his handy work. The surprise had made Theon jump a little. Ramsay always loved it that he could make him scared just by talking. Power was what made him feel good. That and hurting people also caused him extreme pleasure. 

Theon was going to ask but he knew better then to speak without Ramsay's say so first.

"Do sit down, please." He had no choice but to sit down in the chair. He sat down but couldn't help but notice the straps that were on the chair. He didn't think that Ramsay was going to be using them tonight but he undoubted it would be the last time he saw them. Theon took a moment to look at the food. He was going to instantly reach for it but one side glance from Ramsay and he knew better. He slowly retraced his hand back to himself and awaited for whatever Ramsay was to do next. 

"Do you like the meat I cooked? It did squirm for a bit but then again humans tend to do that when they're about to die." He said as he brought the last of the food out from the kitchen and placed it on the table and as he sat down beside he he anxiously waited for him to catch his drift. When Theon was still confused with what he had said Ramsay decided to plainly say it out loud. 

"I have a lovely meat steak but I gave you the human steak. Only the best for my Reek." He said with a smile as he watched Theon suddenly became horrified at having been so eager to eat the meat. Ramsay wasn't a cannibal himself, he didn't see the point in consuming human flesh unless it was being given to his dogs. The only reason he was doing this was so he could see how desperate he was for food and if his pet was willing to go so far as eating human meat.

The smell was practically orgasmic to Theon at this point but his abdomen was still in the agonising pain from Ramsay's last game. Morally he had no idea where he was, true he hadn't killed the person himself but it was still wrong. He looked to Ramsay to see if it would help him in his decision but it only confused him more.

"Eat, you need it." It was defiantly an order by the way he said it, which he supposed made it a fraction easier but yet still the worst decision he would make in his life. He was also eager for Theon to get a bit of meat on him, he didn't want to be fucking what was essentially a skeleton and if he was to be his slave as well he would need some muscle mass for simple household tasks. Theon's mental crisis was reaching its peak. It was sick and a twisted thing to do and his initial thought was to just politely ignore it and only eat some of the vegetable that were on the side. Then again he knew if it was a present from master there was no point in trying to get out of it. Either way he was going to eat it.

Theon picked up the fork but ended up dropping it a couple of times before he got a firm grasp on it. He was horrified with himself for doing this but he knew that he needed to live. Food was what he needed. He should have been asking for death but one thing was stopping him from doing it. He loved life too much. He enjoyed being alive and experiencing the joys of the world. Even though Ramsay had kept him here he still had the smallest bit of hope that he could escape if he bided his time. Soon he had to slip up right?

Ramsay had already had it pre-cut for him, he knew well enough not to give his hostage a sharpened steak knife. Theon was thinking along the lines that he could stab Ramsay with the fork but he knew it wouldn't be enough to kill him. Whatever didn't kill Ramsay made him ruthless.

It surprised Theon. It really didn't taste like steak, it tasted more like a chicken type flavour but it was impossible to put a finger on. He slowly began to eat more. He was disgusted with himself as he ate more but it tasted so good he couldn't help himself.

The more he ate the more Ramsay's grin grew. Theon never took his eyes of the food but he knew that Ramsay was staring at him predatorily and somehow even though it was always how Ramsay looked at him he was still fearful. He looked up at the worst moment as Ramsay had gotten closer to his face and he nearly choked on the human meat. Ramsay was snickering but Theon kept on eating. Ramsay needless to say was turned on at the dinner table but he wasn't going to fuck him here and now. He had a much more special date planned for the future.

Ramsay was as he knew he would have to begrudgingly owe Domeric twenty dollars. He didn't think that Theon would eat it but there he was, wolfing it down. He had never seen a prison eat something so quickly and given the fact that he had told him what it was he was, in a weird way, proud of his pet. He was slowly becoming as fucked up as he was. 

The juice was running down his chin and before Theon could try and lick it Ramsay had beaten him to it. The Bolton's large thumb wiped it away and licked his thumb.

Theon finished the whole thing within 5 minutes and by the time he was done there was nothing left, not even the fat was left for Ramsay to give to his dogs. He was trying his best not to throw it up but the realisation of what he had done had punched him in the face and he was sickened with himself. He allowed himself to get down to Ramsay's level and do something as monstrous. The very idea of Ramsay having influenced him somewhat was like a knife to the throat.

"Never been a fan of human flesh." He face turned sour as he tried to spit it out. Ramsay still wasn't a fan of human meat. He had tried but it just wasn't for him. However the idea of feeding it to his prisons was wonderful to him. It was another way of stripping away their humanity and making them easier to break into what he wanted them to be. To be his Reek.

Theon was nearly finished when his stomach decides to start playing up on him. He knew if he threw it up there would be literal hell to pay later on. His struggling was noticed by Ramsay who was waiting with his hands clasped wondering if his toy would fail. Theon was somehow able to find the strength within himself to keep it down and finish the last couple of bites. He felt complete sick to his stomach but yet somehow it felt so good to finally be fed after been force to live on a skinny supermodels diet for over two weeks.

Ramsay got up and stood behind Theon's chair and was edging so close that Theon could feel his hot breath behind his ear, he was trying not to cringe away but it hurt too much. Yesterday's memories flooding back to him, causing a piercing scream before he put his head under the table.

Ramsay would be lying if he said he wasn't slightly freaked out by this type of reaction. He hadn't done anything bad to hurt him to why Theon was screaming was a mystery to him. He pulled him by the hair and brought him back to the original sitting position. He had prepared all of this for him and he was going to enjoy the refinement of it all whether he wanted to or not.

"How about a nice hot relaxing bath?" Ramsay suggested as he took the plate away from Theon and put it in the sink.

Theon was there anymore, he had retreated into his mind trying to make sense of all of this. He had just done that but it was justified, or was it? These were the questions he was asking himself. He could hear Yara now telling him how that was paying the iron price to survive, while the Starks would be disgusted with him. He longed to hug her again. Even if she could be a stone cold bitch to him sometimes she was able to talk to him in a way that made everything okay. He wouldn't even mind his dad if it meant seeing someone besides him.

Ramsay brought Theon up to a small door and he waited for a moment to see Theon's reaction. Theon didn't understand what it was until he got a strange smell coming from the room. He recognised the smell instantly. For a single moment he felt a small comfort, like Ramsay wasn't even there and it was just him by himself where he thrived the most.

It was the sea, or the smell of it rather.

When Ramsay was satisfied that Theon knew what it was he opened the door and led him inside where Ramsay had filled up a bath and had lit blue scented candles around it, if it weren't Ramsay's doing he would have believed that it was something out of a romance movie. Something that Robb would have done in the old days of their relationship.

The bathroom was considerable small and the overall description of it would be plain. Then again it could have been filled with blood and body parts so Theon was sort of grateful that it was so dull.

Theon was hesitant to get in but one look from Ramsay and he was stripping down in front of him once more. Theon was of course terrified that Ramsay would do something to him there and now but Theon didn't think he would care. He had already done it once so if he did it fifty times over it wouldn't make any difference. Ramsay had marked him in every way he could think of. At least Theon still had a small piece of his mind which he could call his sanity.

He got in and instead of being pushed down and drowned Ramsay started to rub his clean of any blood and dirt he had gathered. While the salt was stinging him he couldn't help but feel a little glad because he was finally be cleaned of everything that Ramsay had put him though. The smell of home was also bringing his to a strange type of calmness.

Theon's eyes looked at a bath bomb wrapper and second later he registered the horribleness of it. It had been the same bath bomb that he had used when he was a child. The fact that Ramsay had done this much research was one of the major things that scared him. How he got the information was a mystery to him but then he knew there was only one way he could have known that. Ramsay Bolton had broken into Balon's house and gone through his family's belongings. It was easy for Theon to believe that he was that crazy at this point.

Ramsay brought the cloth down to his back and rubbed it gently to take Theon out of his nostalgic gaze. He wasn't intending on causing him anymore pain in this moment. He made small circles and while Theon tensed he seemed to get used to it quickly.

Theon didn't know what kind of mind game was being played. It was either going to be Ramsay doing something nice then fucking him over again or Ramsay was just doing it to have a major impact on him later.

Ramsay knew exactly what he was doing. He had put him through the worst and since he now knew that everyone he cared about him didn't anymore, Ramsay knew that if he acted kindly towards him now Theon would be more likely to get used to the idea that he is the only one who now cares about him. It was perfect.

Theon was suspicious naturally but that small part in the back of his mind was falling for Ramsay's tricks. He tried to ignore it but he couldn't deny that it was there. It was small but Theon feared that it would become bigger with time. Something he couldn't allow to take him over for if he did allow that to happen he would lose himself and become whatever Ramsay wanted him to be.

"Theon I wanted to ask you something." Ramsay said finally stopping the motions that he was doing on his back. Theon was tense for a moment, he could physically feel his heart stopping for a moment

"Do you like the basement? Be truthful." He said in a way that seemed genuine but clearly conveyed what Theon should say.

"No…" His voice was cracking with fear.

Small droplets of water rolled off his back and into the water. It was the only sound that filled the room. He was lucky that none of the wounds on his back were reopening and was bloodying the bath water. He tried to lie back but Ramsay was in control of how he was sitting. Ramsay's rule was to always be in control at all points.

"Good. I was thinking what if I let you move upstairs with me. In the kennels." The delight in Ramsay's voice was almost childlike. He felt like it was time that his pet get integrated into the new routine. Things were still experimental considering he had never kept a prisoner in his home before and the basement was beginning to smell.

"The Kennels…." Theon was in warm water but his blood turned to ice at the mention of the hounds. He was still getting flash backs of their teeth as they were fake biting at him and terrifying him. Razor sharp teeth that had nearly torn him to shred. The only time he had issues with a dog was when Grey Wind and him first met but after a couple of dog treats and trips to the park Grey Wind would protect Theon with his life. 

"The kennels what?" Ramsay wanted to hear the missing part of that sentence but it took Theon a moment to realise what he said was wrong and mentally slapped himself for being such an idiot.

"The kennels? Master." He said correcting himself. Ramsay gave him one of his kind and relieved smiles which honestly just made Theon want claw his eyes out. There was such a sickness in Ramsay's dirty blue eyes when he was happy. Theon wondered what colour of eyes his mother had and if she had the creepy unblinking stare that he had or if he got that from his father as well. So many questions about the Bolton family tree yet he doubted he would get any answers that satisfied him.

Ramsay was pouring some generic brand of shampoo as he was talking with Theon. He was going to get him clean for once, though he still liked calling him Reek he couldn't have him stinking up the kennels in his first day there.

"Yes. Won't that be fun? I keep the kennels heated and it's indoors. What do you say?" Some days Ramsay just wanted to fuck Theon while other days he wanted to flay him. It was an odd relationship and Ramsay, in all honesty didn't know how to deal with it.

He wasn't just Ramsay's captive, Theon was Ramsay's new obsession. Ramsay just found that there was something about the way he screamed and the way he was breaking that made him confused. Since Ramsay was a Bolton knowing how healthy, functional relationships worked wasn't exactly one of his strong points. He couldn't feel the normal version of it. Ramsay's idea of love was him being the master and his pet should love him back, cowering in fear was a way of showing respect to him, a way of showing his _affection._

Ramsay often considered if he had gotten the feeling of love from his mother because he knew that as sure as hell he didn't get it from his father. Roose was an unfeeling son of a bitch when he wanted to be. Especially when it came to Ramsay. 

To anyone else it would have sounded horrific but to Theon it sounded like a gift that was too good for him. It would mean nor more of having to sleep in the damp dark basement and more importantly he wouldn't have to be tied to the X, the one thing he wanted more than food and water, just to be down from the bloody X cross.

"Yes Master. I would like that very much." The amount of pathetic tone in his voice was worrying. Every time the word master rolled of his tongue he felt a part of him get physically sick.

"Well then if you would like to follow me I can show you to your new room." He yanked Theon out of the bath and onto the floor, the sudden acclimatisation hitting him hard.

Ramsay tossed Theon a towel and let him dry himself off as best he could. It was so soft that it had to be some kind of trap. It just had to be. He then slowly began to dry himself off but it seemed that he had kept Ramsay waiting too long and he ended up snatching the towel back quickly and then rubbed him harshly until he was all dry. His hair still slightly damp. The harshness of the towel ended up reopening the small back wounds but thankfully it wasn't the biggest one.

_"Now come along Reek, time to meet my bitches."_

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

The kennels stank of dog but Theon expected it to be a lot worse considering there were at least 5 dogs and he knew how much dogs could stink. The Starks had 6 dire wolfs and when they were all in the one area it could get really overpowering. There was also the heating which Theon hadn't felt for so long. He almost found it funny how the dogs were being treated better than he was.

At the smell of the freshly washed Theon all the dogs began to bark. The smell of the new threat made them agitated and Theon was anxious with the deeper he got into the kennel.

"Down girls!" Ramsay yelled. Without any more hesitation his dogs backed down and went about their business as if nothing had happened. Theon wondered if asked on command would he do something like that for Ramsay. In a week he was guessing he would. 

The walk seemed to take an eternity. Theon had noted that there were three empty kennels but Ramsay was taking him to the one at specifically the end of the room. Theon didn't need it to be explained. If he was kept at the front he would escape without alerting the dogs. It was a brilliant tactically move by Ramsay, then again everything up to this point had been

They reached the small pen which was Theon's new accommodations.

"A little tip, all my dogs are bitches so refer to them as she until you learn the names properly." He felt that Theon would talk to the dogs for company so he might as get to know them on a first name basis.

Theon didn't know where the courage came from but he managed to pipe up the courage to ask him a question. "Why are you being so nice to me master?"

The question surprise Ramsay but he was more than happy to answer. He was also pleased that Theon was calling him master without having to think about. Another step in his transition.

"You were good for me yesterday. You did as I said. You deserve a reward for that and you ate the food even knowing what it was."

Theon could see a way for him to get by. He would have to do anything he said then maybe it would be a hell of a lot easier. He would do whatever his master said. Even if it meant letting go of whatever little pride he had left to do whatever it meant to keep him happy.

"Well, I'll let you get settle with the dogs. Goodnight Reek." He said sing song as he pushed him down onto the cold floor of the jail cell and slamming the door narrowly missing his toes.

"Goodnight master." He said in a weak voice as he watched Ramsay lock the door and walk away whistling as if nothing in the world was wrong. He placed his head on the bars and was telling himself to keep it together.

He would have fallen asleep. Would have being the key words. The dogs got rowdy when Theon tried to cry and they began their vicious barking.

He told himself tomorrow was another day meaning another major disintegration of his sanity.

Another day of the game being played.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The time at the station had been undoubtedly the worst thing that Robb, Jon and Cat had ever had the pleasure of doing. It had been so detailed and seeing how they asked Catelyn every single question that they could think off was just exhausting. Jon had offered Robb a ride home which he gladly accepted. Catelyn would be staying with Brienne for the night as they didn't want to risk her safety again.

"Catelyn's statement was good. We can use it." Jon mentioned will sipping at his cup of coffee which had the words traitor on it. It was a gift from his former boss Allister Thorne. He was glad to be rid of that out of date murderer. Jon could feel a small twinge in his stab wound at the thought of him. It had been almost two years but it still was fresh in his mind how his old team had betrayed him and left him for dead. Along with his youngest recruit Olly. 

Robb would have heard him but he was so engrossed with his work that he didn't hear. He kept a mini version of the case files on his phone so that he could look at it as many times as he needed to. He was trying to fool himself into thinking that I he looked over it enough times then he would see thing that wasn't there before. Something that could be the key to all of this.

"He's dead. I can't believe it."

Jon sighed. He knew that he had to say something to him to make him feel better. They had confirmed that he was dead not just by Catelyn's statement but the amount of his blood that was on her dress. It had teased as Theon's and there was too much blood, no one could have survived losing that much. In reality he had taken some of Theon's blood while he was unconscious and splattered it over the dress. He had made sure that one of his father's friends in forensics sampled the right part of the dress.

"Robb, his life was cut short but you don't have to do the same." Jon didn't have time to think about what he had just said but Robb had.

"The hell are you talking about?" He asked shocked at what he might have been implying.

Jon was trying to think of the words for how he could save his ass before Robb punched him in the face. "You seem really guilty about all of this and I just want you to know that you can talk to people about it." He said trying not to poke the bear anymore.

"Do you think I'm going to fucking kill myself?" The Jon said it made it pretty fucking clearly what he was trying to imply and he was having one of those kinds of talk not here. Jon seemed pretty freaked out by the whole thing. He knew it was pretty fucked up to imply it but Robb was his cousin and friend and he needed to know that he wouldn't be leaving to be with him.

"No, God no. I'm just saying its bad mentally. All of this. I am talking to our old therapist. He's giving me advice." Robb said apologetically. He knew that it was wrong to snap at Jon but he couldn't help, people just kept on asking him unnecessary questions and it was beginning to piss him off. Especially Rickon's questions. Like when would he be coming back?

"Good, that's good." The tension in the car had only been slightly deflated but it was still pretty awkward overall.

The car ride was sufficiently awkward after Jon's slip of tongue. Robb wasn't going to consider such a cowardly option. He had so much to live for, his mother, his job hunting down Mister X and seeing the bastard put on death row for his crimes. He could picture it now. Him being the one who did the execution. As his father always said "the man who passes the punishment must pass the execution."

Theon never believed in that punishment unless it was necessary. He was like Jon and believed that criminals could be reformed at Castle Black prison or "the wall" as the nights watch team called it. He was considering joint the nights watch because he felt useless just working on boats all his life but Theon wasn't exactly the strongest and he didn't pass the physical even though his written exam was nearly prefect. Robb simply liked to put it that he had straw for bones.

"Theon would have wanted him dead." Jon could see Robb's reflection in the car window and it was a signature dark Robb look. The one that said he was in a mood not to be fucked with. Trying to comfort him when he was like this was nearly impossible. He rarely listened unless they had a good point or agreeing opinion.

"He'll get the death penalty. I'll see to that personally." He gave his word on this. He had taken away a member of his family and he wasn't going to let another family feel that same pain. He may have been a bastard child but he was hunting down the bastards who were worse than him.

When Jon had pulled up to Robb's apartment he stopped the car. Jon kept Robb in the car by grabbing his arm just before he left. Robb was going to pull away but Jon had something to say.

"He's going to strike again and we need all the help we can get. I want you to join the nights watch full time. You won't have to take orders from Brienne. Only me and Eddison." He didn't want to sound like he was preaching about how great it was but he needed to get Robb on his side here.

"I….I don't know. I don't want to think about Theon. Every time I go into that room, I think of all the time we spent trying to find him and then how we couldn't…How I couldn't…" It couldn't leave his lips but he had thought about this a million times.

"But we catch King's Landings worst killers including Mr X. He's going to slip up soon I know it. They always do." Jon was beginning to lose hope of catching him but all the killers he had faced all made one mistake. It wasn't that Mr X was good it was just that they hadn't been able to find his one mistake yet.

He had always thought that Robb was meant to do something more than just be another detective. Jon could see potential for higher status in the police station. Another good thing would be that he wouldn't have to be under Brienne and Jamie's thumb all the time and taking their commands. Jon found that his job kept him occupied in the hardest of times and when things weren't so bad it gave him a sense of accomplishment.

"I can't now. But I think I will." Robb had seen grief before and would need something to keep him occupied. He couldn't go through it again. He couldn't.

"Welcome aboard. I'll let you have one and a half months then you come by and join up." He shook his hand and then Robb enveloped him in a hug. He just needed someone to hug. It had been a hell of a day and he just needed some form of comfort. This went on until it went past the point of sufficient awkwardness.

"Thank you. Now I think I'm gonna go home. Grey Wind is probably wondering where I've been" He looked out the window and up to the apartment. It was only now occurring to him that he hand't been back since the fight. He had called one of Bran and Rickon's babysitters to look after Grey wind while he was out. He made a note that he would have to pay Osha for her services later.

"See you later." Robb left the car silently and made his way up slowly to the apartment. When he got to the door he had to take a couple of moments before he could bring himself to push the door open. He knew that he would have to face the memory of the last time he was here, when the last thing he said to him was em"You were so useless"/em

Strangely enough he didn't have to worry about seeing it as when he got in the house he was instantly knocked over by Grey Wind who had clearly missed him as his face was met with dog slobbers and happy barking. Robb gave his dog lots of affection back. In all this bleakness it was nice to see that at least someone was happy.

Robb looked at the wall clock and he knew that he needed the sleep. When Robb was finally getting to bed he heard scraping at the door and opened it to see a confused looking Grey Wind. The hound was so used to seeing the other body in the bed with Robb so the fact that he was missing was upsetting him.

"Come on boy, you can sleep beside me." He patted the spot where Theon would normally lie. Even the feeling of it being empty was hard for him to fathom.

He would have liked to say that he fell instantly a sleep but that would have been a lie. He promised himself he would breakdown again. Grey Wind had one job that night, being there for his master. Being there to help him get through the tears and the anger and every other emotion that it entailed.

The night passed quickly but tomorrow was a new day.

Another day of the game being played.


	12. The Finger Game

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello readers. Just a quick notice that the chapters might be a little bit later due to GCSE Exams. 
> 
> I know a lot of you are waiting for our poor squid baby to be safe and don't worry that will be happening within the next couple of chapters. Just a smidgen more suffering then fluff, intense therapy and recovery the rest of the way. I'm sorry I got a little carried away with torturing my favourite character. 
> 
> Enjoy the latest chapter of Iron Chain Game. (Warining: Bloodshed.)

Theon’s first night with the hounds hadn’t been a pleasant one. It wouldn’t have been please for anyone. His back was still aching from the time he had spent chained up to that damned X. That wasn’t even the worst part of it, the worst part was undoubtedly the dogs. Ramsay’s bitches. They had insisted on barking the entire night and kept him up until he was so physically exhausted that he went into a death like sleep. 

That was over a week ago and now the bitches had gotten used to the stench of Theon and had accepted him into the kennels. He didn’t know how he had managed to get by but he was doing reasonably ok. They were still violent towards him but he had been feeding them regularly so there was less hostility but he knew it would take another while before they’d fully get used to him being the new addition to the family. 

Ramsay was asking surprisingly little of him. He had been having him do minor house hold tasks. Little things such as cleaning up the dishes and cleaning certain rooms, all under his supervision of course. Ramsay saw no point in keeping him cooped up and he found that he needed a lot of help around the house but he also had better things to spend his money on rather than hiring a maid who he would end up killing anyway and making more mess. 

Ramsay was once again the first thing he had been greeted with when he woke up. He was still half asleep but is body was already beginning to stand up. There was a consequence to every action and when he hadn’t gotten up for Ramsay on the first morning he learned how that was _disrespectful_.

“Wake up. We have things to do.” Theon didn’t question it. He knew well enough that Ramsay would explain what sick and twisted shit he would be forced to put up with today. He prayed that it would be working somewhere simple like the living room or the bedroom. At least in those rooms Ramsay would allow him to have the tv on to keep the silence from getting intolerable. If Theon did anything wrong he would take away his privileges. Only another thing Ramsay used to make him go future deep into insanity. 

Ramsay grabbed him by the hand and dragged him out of the cages. He had lost count of how many times he had had to tell Theon to stop falling over. It was starting to irritate him. He didn’t know what caused it. Was it the lack of food? Was it the wounds finally becoming too much? Or could it had been Ramsay fucking him so hard it left him walking wrong? He didn’t know but what he did know was that none of them were good excuses to be using. 

When Ramsay did let him go he found that they were in the kitchen area. There wasn’t much in terms of the smell but there was something off somewhere. It was the smell of mould and things that had decayed that was assaulting him and his senses. 

“I want you to clean up the kitchen, more specifically find out what’s causing the smell in the fridge.” He was certainly assured that Theon wouldn’t be running anytime soon and he had spent more than his hair share of time in the basement so now Ramsay decided it would be the perfect time for him to have him do something useful instead of just wasting away. 

He cracked the fridge door open and had to run to the sink to throw up. He could guess what was in there, he didn’t want to touch it though. Theon looked around at the mess. He supposed that it was better than having nothing to do and letting his mind wondering deeper in the stinking black pit of insanity. His own mental oblivion. 

“I’m going to sort stuff out in the basement. Don’t leave me.” He was always very specific on the last part. He knew that Theon wasn’t leaving him but he always wanted to strike that little bit of fear into him just to make sure that he wouldn’t be trying anything. He left the gagging man alone. 

Theon then saw that Ramsay for whatever reason had a box of tissues by the sink. He supposed he could use them to at least try to block out the stench. As he went deeper into the fridge he pulled out bags of god knows what. He could tell they were defiantly body parts. 

He didn’t want it to last any longer than it had to see he once more picked them up and attempted to put them into the bin and dispose of them once and for all. He didn’t who had been used to feed him but he was thankful that he saw it was a man’s hand and not a woman’s. It meant that he hadn’t eaten Catelyn. 

A feeling an annoyance come over him when he saw that bin bag was full so that he didn’t know what to do with it. He looked around for anywhere he could put it and saw another bin outside in the garden. Without thinking about the repercussions he ran out and threw it into what he could now see as a compost bin. He wasn’t surprised when he saw many more parts in there only at different stages of decomposition. Most of it was just a black liquidised soup but he could make up some grey patches of skin. 

Black putrefaction at its finest. 

He then took a moment to physically throw up the contents of his stomach once again. It was mostly now just consisting off the clear stomach acid but there was the small bit of actually food that found its way out. When he was done he then looked around and realized where he was. What he had gotten himself into.

Theon's feet had been bare for quite some time now but the feeling of the grass and the moisture made him almost forget about how there were stones deeply embedded into the cuts on his heels and sole. He actually took a moment to appreciate all of the little details. Ramsay’s garden wasn't what he was expecting at all. He expected it to be half dead like all the things in his basement. Instead it was a pretty average looking place. The flowers were all planted and the lots looked like they had been freshly dug up. He could guess why they were really dig up but he kept to himself.

The fence on the other hand was exactly how he pictured it. Tall and covered with barbed wire. From the looks of it someone else had tried to get out and had failed miserably. Theon wasn’t going to have the same fate befall him. 

He was turning around to go back inside when he felt Ramsay grabbing his shoulder and then a quick but of blunt force trauma to the head. His vision was blurred with black spots however though the blackness he could hear Ramsay sighing deeply. His scowl let Theon know he had done the wrong thing. He wasn't deliberately trying to run away but he was going to be punished as if he had. 

When Theon was finally able to get his head cleared again he was met with a sight that made him want to scream. He was back in the basement. Back with the cross. He wasn’t on it this time but even just having it in the same room was enough to keep him quiet. 

Ramsay was sitting in the chair beside him and had a look that he hadn’t seen on Ramsay yet. A look of betrayal. He had betrayed Ramsay. Theon was trying to brace himself for what was to come next. If Ramsay had been doing this because he could then now he had an actual reason he was going to reach the next level of pain. He wondered if this would be the time where Ramsay’s accidently fucks up and kills him. 

“You tried to escape me.” He said it as plain as he could. He wasn’t showing any sign of an emotion. He didn’t say it as one of his little jokes and he didn’t talk about it like it was the worst thing in the world, he just said it. 

Theon wasn’t going to beg but he was aware how much Ramsay mentioned how he loved begging, both when torturing him and during their ‘night-time activities’. He then one again began to plead for him. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. It was an accident I didn’t mean it. I’ll stay with you please I-.”

Ramsay tone changed rather quickly. Like he had instantly forgiven him for what he had done. “Are you ready for today?” There was an unusual spring to his step. Theon had come to realize it only happened when he was going to do something that pleasure him and that most likely meant that he was going to suffer because of it. He could see though the bounciness at this point. He knew that underneath Ramsay was on the verge of killing him. He had broken one of Ramsay rules and he was going to pay for it. 

He was tempted to spit at his captor but two things were stopping him. The main thing being the lack of water meaning he couldn't physically do it and there was the fact that if he didn't comply he’d be beaten again and he had to remember his one rule of winning the game he had set up. The human steak he had been forced to eat had only filled him up for a certain amount of time and he was beginning to hunger again. 

“I would be more careful but it's not like anyone is coming to look for you.” He didn’t know what he felt when he had seen Theon standing in the garden. His mind was telling him that he had planned on making another run for it. He wanted to give Theon a quick reminder that no one cared about him. No one else except for him. Ramsay was the only one he needed. 

“I know.” He said quietly in a breathless voice. He didn't have the energy to speak any louder. Ramsay shot him one of his psychotic grins. He was amazed at how fast he was learning. Theon knew that he was dislike but he guessed he must have been really bad if everyone he thought he loved didn’t want to find him. 

“I am the only one who cares about you now. Your sister gave up on you before you were missing, your friends didn’t bother looking for you and your fiancé left at the first opportunity. It’s a shame you won't get to use the ring you have-” He looked down at his shaking hands and noticed that the piece of jewellery he had noticed before was nowhere in sight. Ramsay was trying to think if he had seen recently but he couldn’t recall seeing it anywhere on him. 

The hand that had been resting on Theon’s cheek was drawn away. Theon only remembered now that he had thrown away the ring in the hopes that Robb or Jon would have been able to find it. It never actually occurred to him that Ramsay could have picked up on this. 

“Where is your engagement ring?” He asked calmly first. He didn't want to seem mad but Theon could tell by reading his expression that he was going to get the answer out of him by any means necessary. Ramsay had completely tossed the nearly escaping thing out the window. For Ramsay this was a problem. If the ring wasn't here then where in the seven hells was it. 

“My what?” He asked trying to sound as naïve as possible, he was hoping that Ramsay would buy that he genuinely no idea what happened. There was instant regret as Ramsay slammed his head back against the wood. 

“The engagement ring you were wearing in the bar! Where is it?! Don't think that I didn't notice it.” He grabbed on of Theon’s fingers and bent it back until he was sure he heard a cracking noise. He gave a small gasp at the pain that was going through his hand but remained resilient. He wasn’t going to let himself give up now. Someone would have to find it and then they would know where he was. He couldn’t escape so it was a matter of the outside world coming to save him. 

Despite the pain this was the first time since being captured a wide smile spread across his face knowing that he had gotten the upper hand on him. Having control over someone who told him when to eat was a small comfort. This small comfort was almost instantly ripped away however as his new master was looking up and down at him in the manner that he did. 

“Well seeing as you won't tell me where the ring went I guess you have no use for your ring finger.” Ramsay only needed to look at Theon once to give him the chills all over again. He dragged Theon to the table but his hand in leather strap despite Theon’s resistance. His struggling was always something that made for an interesting game to him. He’d have a new reaction each time and that made for all kind of fun he could repeat over and over and over. 

Theon tried to pull away but it resulted in him being smacked across the face to try and get him to stop. He could tell by the amount of force used that he wasn’t messing about. He was going to do this. This wasn’t just some scare tactic and that this was going to be another lesson about Ramsay’s world and how it worked. 

Ramsay had already taken the liberty of bringing down some of his favourite knifes just to use on Theon specifically. They came in all various shapes and sizes and his hands hovered over all of them watching as Theon tried to picture which one was going to hurt the most. 

Ramsay took the black kitchen knife. It was defiantly the sharpest of the bunch and was easier to handle then the other though the meat clever did seem appealing. Slowly, slowly he started by poking the sharp blade underneath his fingernail, lifting it slightly and gaining a scream from the Greyjoy. He was surprised by the scream, normally his victims would have high picked screams mixed in with begging but Theon’s was different, it was more of a deep _I will kill you_ kind of scream. He wasn't sure he like it but soon enough he would beat it out of him. He would beat a lot of his bad habits out of him.

“Master…please.” He begged, his teeth clenched together as he scathed in pain. All the pain was merging at this point. Ramsay’s goal was to break him and this was making the last stretch. This was the breaking pain. Ramsay didn’t know it right now but soon Theon would be no more. 

He removed the blade from under the nails and without even the slightest bit of warning he brought the knife to the knuckle, just at her his finger joined with the rest of his hand and began to hack it like some kind of crazed butcher. He was satisfied when he saw that it was completely detached. This was the most blood he had seen come from Theon and he was loving every millisecond of it. 

He picked it up and wiggled it in front of Theon’s face hoping he was looking at it but his eyes were glued shut.

Ramsay now got the type of scream he was looking for, the one where they sounded like they were in the worst pain imaginable. How he enjoyed it. The blood was like a crimson river, flowing just for him. Ever since he was a child he had always found fascination in the human anatomy more importantly blood and how pretty it looked when flowing out of a person. 

“Now will you tell me where it is?” He asked with a sing song tone in his voice. He was surprised he was still showing this much resistance. 

He looked like he was considering it for a moment but then, once again through the pain, responded.

“I lost it. When you took me here. It might have slipped of in the trunk.” He was scared for his life but another Robb had mentioned was that if the kidnapper could see that you weren't scared of them then you could last longer. Robb had told him what typical abductors acted like but he didn't tell him there would be people like Bolton. His hand was trying to clutch but the pain when he moved his hand was hurt the now bleeding stub.

Ramsay could just picture the moment he would break and become fully his Reek. He wasn’t there yet but he could see the moment coming anytime now. The thought was so appealing he felt a stiffness rising in his trousers. He knew that he wanted this time bad but as he was considering taking him right there and then he remembered that he was losing a lot of blood so he would probably have to fix that first before doing anything else. He would fuck him again later on. 

He hadn’t intended on using him for sex originally but he seemed to be trying a lot of new things with him. Sure Ramsay had experimented with both boys and girls but Theon was something new. His slender frame and his tight asshole made him very, very fuckable. 

He dragged Theon by his messed up hair, up to what Theon knew as the kitchen. How he wished he had just stayed put instead of accidently wondering off into the garden. 

“Don't think about running away, there's only one house here that's being used, the rest are for sale. No one has looked at buying here for years.” Theon wouldn’t run but he would reinforce that idea at every opportunity. 

As Ramsay put on the bandage he was thinking of what his little per could have possibly done with his wedding ring. The first thought that came to mind was that he hid it somewhere in the room and it would just be a simple matter of trying to find it. It would make the most sense as it would have a lot of sentimental value to Theon but himself personally was likely to just sell it.

Then another idea came across his mind and he could have laughed. His soon to be husband was a police officer, what if Robb had told him to throw it away in case he was being kidnapped? 

“You left it as evidence didn't you? You sneaky little minx.” He was panicking for a moment. If they happened to find that ring then it could mean they investigate the bar and in turn him. The more he thought about it the better he felt as he realised there was nothing that could link him to it. It was going to be fine.

Theon remained quiet and tried to look away, he was certain that Ramsay knew he was correct but he wouldn't give him the satisfaction of making him talk.

“You're smart. In fact, the smartest person I've ever had here.” From the pictures he had saved from his various social media accounts he assumed he wouldn't be that clever but stranger things had happened. 

Theon picked up on the fact that by this point he wasn't the first of his victims and he hoped to the drowned god he would be his last. No on deserved this his. The only person who did was staring him in the face.

“How many?” He needed to know. He hoped it wasn't many for two reasons. The first being it would be no one else had to experience this pain. The second was that it meant he wasn't that experienced and would be more likely to make a mistake and that would be his golden opportunity to escape.

“How many what? People? You are in no position to be asking questions. But I think if we bond a little it might be more fun.”

Ramsay had been having so much fun with Theon he hadn’t actually thought about all of his old kills, they had simply slipped away from him. Theon saw him mouth out the numbers as his memories came back and got even more worried when he saw Ramsay’s hand also having to be used to count it out. 

“14 fully grown adults, 6 men and 8 women, 3 children and I've lost count of how many cats.”

Theon was in the bloodstained hands of a complete psychopath. He could maybe understand adults but killing children. Theon often joked to Bran and Rickon that if they annoyed him he would burn the alive but he would never actually have the guts to do it. Despite knowing this there was a weird type of security with Ramsay. He may have been torturing him but it was very clear at this point that he wanted Theon alive. 

Ramsay one more broke the silence that had formed between them. “Cats were easier but they don't provide the same thrill anymore. I’m more of a dog person anyway. I suppose you've already met them.” He said glancing over to the kennels. 

“Dogs…” Theon tried to swallow the lump that was forming in his throat. He had seen what the dogs were capable of doing and they hadn't even had to use their teeth. He vaguely hoped that the dogs would have mercy on him considering they had shared the room for at least a week. 

“Why did you run? I was treating you well. I was feeding you and I was clothing you. We were becoming a real happy family.” He said completely out of the blue. Ramsay was direct and Theon supposed that this was the question he was trying to ask all along. 

“I’m sorry.” Theon didn’t expect the apology to actually work but Ramsay simply patted him on the head.

Theon’s head was thrown back as he could feel the blood loss finally hitting him hard. 

“I suppose seeing as I have taken your finger and you’ll no longer be able to keep your promise to Robb I suppose I can forgive you but I don’t want anything like this happening every again alright? Not like he’d want a cheating dirty little scum like you.”

“Yes, master thank you. A thousand times over.” He being in a forgiving mood was the best thing he had heard since coming here. Ramsay may have been all forgiving on the outside but internally he was losing it. How could he have been so stupid as to forget about the ring? The one piece of evidence that could bring him down. He felt like an idiot for not noticing it by now.

If only he could remember which bar he got Theon from. 

He supposed it didn’t matter, he had gotten him something better anyway. He got him another piece of Jewellery, a ring made to look like an iron chain. He had to get it through several sources as to not be caught. He doubted anyone would find it suspicious in the first place but he couldn't let anything slip by him. He had already had it premade but now was just a convenient time to bring it up 

“This is to bind me to you. You are locked onto me with this iron chain. Forever. If you ever take off my ring I'll assume that you lost it like you did with the first one. Also you'll lose another finger. Understand? If not just think of it as another game.” Ramsay proposal was making him emotional. They had done a lot of bonding this evening and now was the perfect moment. Theon was getting sick of all of Ramsay’s little games. His mind was overthinking all of these games. If he just let himself become Ramsay's property then his mind would finally get some peace. He tried to get the thought of it out of his head but the more he resisted the harder the thought stayed with him.

It was tearing his brain into tiny pieces. The thing he tried to focus on was the smell of the iron. It smelt like the rusting boats he used to work on for his father. God he would take cleaning those over this in a heartbeat. 

Ramsay had left him alone for half an hour to adjust to not having a finger anymore. If it wasn’t for Ramsay actually caring if he survived then he would have gone into shock form the blood loss. He had to tap Theon on the shoulder a couple of times before he was finally able to respond. 

“Now come. I want you to do something for me.” Theon was only half listening to him and was essentially letting him guide the way. The rest of the way was him in and out of listening. His mind was working faster then it had been while he was here. He could feel his mind beginning to change for the worse. He didn’t want to try and stop it, he gladly welcomed whatever was going on. 

“I want you to keep my bed warm. I’m not in the mood for anything sexual now but I would like to be kept warm. Are you capable of that Reek?” He said eyeing the bed. Theon nodded yes. He had already been intimate with him once. He didn’t see why he should put up any resistance now. Ramsay pushed him onto the bed and Theon couldn’t help but shudder. His mind was telling him that he was going to try something but when Ramsay got in with him he then was able to rest easy. 

As Ramsay spooned him he was thinking about Robb. His emotions were a bit conflicted on him. On one hand he had loved him for the longest time and promised no harm would come to him. Now he had betrayed him. He had left him at the hands of Ramsay. 

He couldn’t hate Robb but he needed to forget about him, if he moved on doing things like this would weaken the shame and digestedness he felt. Ramsay would be his new Robb, Ramsay who would keep him safe, and Ramsay who loved him but just showed it in a different way. The only one who cared. 

Ramsay pulled Theon closer and the two began to warm each other up. Theon was the colder of the two by far due to his malnutrition but he seemed to be keeping Ramsay happy and that was the main thing.

Ramsay nuzzled into Theon’s shoulder blade and at one point Theon could have sworn that Ramsay was actually sniffing his hair but he didn’t know if that was what he was doing. Theon was accepting of this. He knew that this was his job to do and he was going to do it well. It was the only way to escape. Not escape form him but escape from Theon. If he was able to become what Ramsay wanted him to be then he would be getting away in a sense. 

Ramsay’s final words before they fell asleep was exactly what he needed to hear. 

_“I’m all you have left. And you are all I have.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Theon to Reek...


	13. The Breaking Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robb attends a funeral while Theon finally breaks.

Robb was not really the type of person who wore a suit, he was more of a casual green jacket with a white top kind of man. So for him to be dressed in all black was quite the difference. Robb looked in the mirror and practice the face he would have to wear the rest of the day. A face that told people he wasn't about to break down into a million pieces. It was for a formal occasion and the worst type of formal occasion in Robb's mind.

The funeral of Theon Greyjoy.

They found the body a week after the incident with Catelyn. It had been dumped outside of a pub and made a terrible surprise for the owners the next morning. They couldn't tell through the charring who it was but after being sent to the DNA lab they found from the M.E that it was Theon Greyjoy's body. The thing was that they didn't happen to see the lies that he was feeding them. The Medical examiner just happened to be under the safety of the Bolton name and there was a surprising increase in his bank account just before the results were in.

Robb couldn't look at the body for very long when he had been brought in to see it one more time. He didn't even recognize it because of how it was scorched. He felt a small relief that his suffering was finally over but knowing that the final time he was in pain it was one of the most horrific ways to die. Sam had been reading a book when he told him that burning was one of the most painful ways a person could have their life ended. 

He then had to make the hard task of telling the daughter of the Kraken that her brother was dead. She accepted it pretty much in the way that he had expected her too. First, she had asked if this was some kind of sick joke then when she realized he was serious she then punched a hole in the wall beside her and took a drink of scotch straight from the bottle, not even bothering to slow down and breath. Robb was so terrified that she would kill him that he actually had to step out of the room and simply listen to her as she let out all of her pent-up rage.

Yara kicked and screamed the house down demanding to know everything that there was to know about the case and when Robb told her that she couldn't have the information she went ballistic. Through the thick plaster walls he could make out his name being muttered hatefully several times over along with several low swears and then when she had gotten it all out he went back in and held her as she finally was crying deeply and through her sobs mention her baby brothers name.

If Yara had one regret it was that she never got to tell him how much he meant to her. That and of course she was so hard on him most of the time. She never considered the possibility that he would be the one to die first after all she was the older one, she drank at least 3 bottles of alcohol per week, smoked like there was no tomorrow and the only real exercise she got was all the running about she did on the boat shop whereas her baby brother was healthier by a marathon mile. He ate good vitamin-rich food seafood, exercise with Robb and only drank when stressed. 

It had been an ugly mess but all of them were at peace with the fact that they at least were able to get the body back and the how ordeal was over with. It wasn't the outcome that they had hoped for but at least it was at an end now. His love could finally rest away from the evil clutches of those who would harm him. 

Now it was just a matter of finding the man who did it then, and only then, would it be truly over.

The funeral was being held at the "iron islands" part of the city as many people liked to call it. It was the area that was close to the sea and was often home to all the criminals who had been let out or criminals who were still active. It was like the Australia of Westeros only it somehow had more deadly things that could kill you.

Everyone who was friends with the Greyjoy's was there. Including Daenerys who happened to be Yara's newest love squeeze although it seemed like this relationship might stick. She had been helping Yara the past month in trying to cope and while she had been helping a lot she was harder to reaching coming up to this day.

Robb was had helped with carrying the casket into the grave. He underestimated how hard it was to carry it. The pallbearers who helped him included Jon, Samwell and even the recently released Jamie Lannister. Then again there was another problem. The choice of the coffin was a high point of controversy for many people. From anyone else's point of view, it might seem normal but this had enraged some of the iron born. Specifically one iron born woman.

Yara had been mightily pissed when she learned that he wasn't getting a traditional burial, as Greyjoy's were always buried at sea. Robb had to explain that they needed him buried so in case that they needed to retake any evidence from the body. She had tried her best to get Robb to change his mind but as much as he wanted Yara to be happy as well they couldn't risk anything.

After a great deal of heavy thought Robb had decided to take Jon up on his Nights watch offer early. He had gotten over the worst of it but he was still going to his normal therapist. He'd go and watch as he wrote things down about how he needed to positively channel the anger. It was a load of shit if you asked him but if it helped he would take it.And the added bonus of getting to find the killer and look down at him as he died.

The sermon had been a relatively simple. It had been a Sept who conducted the funeral and had said funeral lines of the Ironborn perfectly. Sansa and everyone had come for the first part but then they couldn't stick around for the second half. It meant that they would have to see a lot of people they disliked and that meant that it was likely that someone would be crying and it would be a mess. Robb would be staying for all of it and he would only come home when he felt like he was ready for it. Then again he didn't feel he could go back to the apartment ever again.

Those few who remained either went to the house afterward for the wake but only a chosen few decided to stay behind at the grave and pay their respects. That meant that the only two who were left were Yara and Robb. The wind had picked up and to anyone else in the graveyard, it would have looked like a scene out of a TV drama. They both stood in silence, neither looking at one another to save any awkward feelings. Yara was the first to approach the grave. She seemingly had something to leave on it. When She had left her token and she walked back he could see very clearly what was left. It was a small toy, a squid plush toy.

Robb remembered it well. When Theon had first brought it to Winterfell when he was 9 it had been the one thing that Robb noticed. Theon had held it so close it was practically a part of him. Yara had given it to him so that he never forget who he was, that he was a Greyjoy no matter what. It had been a cute little gesture but now that he saw it again clearly time had not been its friend. The tentacles were scruffy looking and it had an eye missing that was sewn together with an X.

"I fixed it up. I spent all of the last night looking for it. He always loved that stupid little squid toy." Yara said, her eyes fixated on the toy and her voice remaining sturdy but breaking at the thought of her innocent brother as a child playing with his squid. Then another memory as he was taken away by Ned Stark and how he held onto it throughout.

"He did. He called it squishy." Robb chuckled. Once he said that it once more returned to the awkward silence but then there was something different this time. Yara seemed almost angry. Robb's tired voice tried to speak up but she cut across him first.

"You caused this. It's all your fault Stark." Her voice was neither angry nor sad but it was filled with complete bitterness towards him. She had tried to place the blame solely on the killer but she kept on thinking how if Theon hadn't had that fight with Robb then he wouldn't be 6ft below her.

"I'm sorry Yara." There was nothing else to be said. He wished that there were the words he could use to fully describe a fitting apology but once more he was speechless.

She threw her hands down to emphasise her anger. "Don't you dare! You're the reason my brother was captured by that psychopath." Yara was hard on Theon but for a good reason. She wanted to toughen him up, not that he wasn't strong it was just he needed that little push to reach his full potential. She didn't account on Theon being in the situation that he was forced into.

"You think I wanted it to happen?" Robb was told repeatedly not to get angry with those who were grieving but Yara's blaming him wasn't exactly helping him keep his cool. Things had been tense between them before but he felt like this was when it reached its most tense.

"No! But still, if you weren't together then he would still be alive wouldn't he?" She pointed out as if it was the most obvious thing in the work.

Yara often acted like a stone-hearted bitch towards Theon but she did care about him and also she was his big sister, she was meant to protect him no matter what and she had failed in that one simple job. She had failed her other two brothers and now she had failed Theon. She wondered what crime she commuted for the Drowned God to be punishing her like this. Dany had been there shortly after Yara had been told the news and it had taken her several hours of comforting talks to get her to stop crying.

"Just leave us to mourn Robb." He backed up because he could tell how serious she was due to the way that she said his first name. She only used it either when she was Angry or extremely upset. There was dead silence between the two yet again. There was absolutely nothing to be said. How are you meant to talk to the sister of the man you were going to marry?

"I need to be here too." Robb needed this closure. He needed to look at the grave for the last time and finally, put this chapter of his life behind him. He was going to miss him but he couldn't keep on feeling this way. He wasn't going to be consumed by guilt anymore. He had already had enough of it with his father.

"No you don't. You need to be out there before he strikes again. Next time it could be one of your own." Yara was saying everything she thought of to simply make him go away. He wasn't technically part of the family as they never were able to get married. She only wanted to be here alone. She couldn't handle it, or more she couldn't handle him.

He eventually saw no more point in trying to fight against her. She was arguably closer to him so he knew he should take his leave and let her mourn properly. "I'll go. Goodbye Yara." He didn't want to go but he was able to understand that he wasn't part of Theon's family of blood and blood relatives were considered higher up then he would ever be.

"I never want to see you again." The abrasive bitterness in her voice was clear as the summer skies. She knew what she was saying and what it meant but she didn't care in the moment of time. Robb was the worst thing that had ever happened to her and her family, what little there was of it left. Yara Greyjoy was all alone in the world save for a few uncles here and there but the chances of them coming back were minimal. 

Robb was stunned by the sudden calmness yet sheer amount of rage that was lying behind it. "What? Yara I know you're upset but I think-!" He didn't get to finish his reasoning because Yara was sick of hearing him talk and cut across his sentence like a knife.

"Go! My brother was meant to live until he was a good old age. I'm not going to act like he was fully good, yes he could be an ass sometimes but he was my brother. MY BABY BROTHER! He had salt and iron in his blood. And from what I know he had his blood spilled by Mr X or whatever you call him. Multiple times. He was tortured in there for 2 WEEKS! I haven't even been told what he went through and now I'll never know because he burnt his FUCKING BODY." That had been undoubtedly the longest sentence that she had said to him since she had been told the unfortunate news.

The iron born were a proud people. They were as their name implies as tough as nails. When one of their own was attacked or murdered then they knew they had held out for as long as they could. Yara suspected that Robb and Jon had been withholding information about what all really happened to him but if she chased it further she felt she would only get even more horrified about the truth that she discovered.

Robb left it at that. He could understand how families of murdered loved ones could act at funerals but he never thought that he would have to experience this pain himself. Every time he through that he had gotten over the worst of it then he would find a way that he would begin to hurt more.

This time it was with when he saw the physical gravestone.

He seemed heartless for not crying, Yara was able to pick up on this. When in reality the only reason he wasn't crying was that when he had taken Catelyn to the hospital and he had gone back to the station. He had walked into an empty interrogation room and that was when he let his emotions all out, Brienne heard it be elected to not go in. She knew how badly that he needed that cry of anguish. All victims and people related to the victims did. The giant woman did eventually come in after about twenty minutes to offer him a cup of tea to get him back to sort of normal.

The grave was actually very nice. It was an unusual one but it had been made from an iron colored material as most iron borns choose. It also was decorated with flowers and candles. And freshly lit in his memory. The candles were sea salted. Yara and Theon mightn't have been able to get the sea funeral that they wanted but they did get were getting the closest thing to it.

Robb went on his way. When he was far enough away he looked back to see Yara kneeling beside the grave and crying by the way she was holding her head in her hands. Jon was the one to be picking up Robb. When he looked out the car window he could see how he was doing and knew it was best that he probably brought him home.

He was glad that he attended. It was letting him say his final goodbye to Theon before he would be able to find peace and try to move on.

He was ready to join the night's watch. He was ready to catch a killer.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dripping sounds always made Theon uncomfortable. When it was water he didn't mind splashing but whenever it was dripping it just gave him the chills because it meant he was surrounded by a terrifying silence. Not the uncomfortable type that was done at funerals or meeting relatives but one that was threatening and ominous. Now to hear it constantly as the minor cuts would seep droplets of blood now and again. He had passed the point of even thinking about complaining. His opinion on things no longer mattered all that mattered was whatever Ramsay was thinking.

He was still trying to adjust to the feeling of no longer having his ring finger as his other hand naturally rubbed over it. He was so used to feeling the ring around it that to no longer have that was driving him even more insane. He would absent-mindedly find himself trying to rub it for emotional support but when he realized what he was doing he tried to stop himself from doing it. It only hurt every time he did.

There were only two people that Theon could have the companionship of. The first was himself and the second was the dogs that Ramsay forced him to share a room with. Ramsay didn't count. The only conversation he had with Ramsay was to tell him how good a master he was and how he yelled at him not to kill any of his family. That along with screams, grunts and the occasional _"No"_ and _"Stop."_ was pretty much what made up his dialogue over the past couple of weeks. Sure his personality was the same but the more he obliged the less scar he would wake up with.

Now was one of the rare occasions that Ramsay decided to go out for a while to go get more supplies and what he liked to refer to as "toys." These so-called toys ranging from "Knives to cut him with" to "Candle wax for something he wanted to try out later."

Since he was alone he decided to take this opportunity to let himself talk. He spoke out loud to the dogs as they no longer hated him and were often just content listening to his voice. It was only when he let out the anguished cry that they seemed to take note.

"I have to escape." His hands slammed against the brick wall and ended up scraping his knuckles that they bled. It had gotten to a point where the pain old bothered him if he was being directly and deeply cut by whatever was going to provide Ramsay with an instant source of entertainment. He realized how bad that thought was and instantly retracted his hand back to himself and looked around his tiny prison. He always liked to make sure that Ramsay wasn't around when he let that slip.

"I can't say that! He'll hurt me. He always finds out. If I stay here I'll be able to keep him happy. And if he's happy I'll live." The dogs never replied to him but it was almost as if all of his thoughts were being able to be communicated through them. The two sides of his mental debate.

"He's only going to kill me in the end." He said being realistic. It wouldn't be soon that Ramsay killed him but he knew that it would be one day. Theon knew it would be by accident that it happened. Ramsay might just happen to cut the one wrong vein then he would finally get a glimpse of happiness. He reveled in the thought of watching his blood flow out of his wrists but he couldn't do that. Ramsay had constant eyes over him and he would save him and make him suffer for it. He didn't know how but Ramsay always found a way.

"It's not like anyone is going to find me. They all think I'm dead." He slumped down to his hands and knees and cried. His whole body began to rock back and forth. He was destroyed mentally and he was on his last string of sanity. This would be the deciding factor, what he chose to do now. He had gotten sick of the fighting, the constant state of trying to survive as Theon Greyjoy was killing him. Surviving as Reek on the other hand….

"I have to survive. I have to serve him. He cares for me. Robb gave up on me. He betrayed…." He couldn't let the last word out of his mouth. He never thought he would have to say that sentence in a serious tone. Theon had accepted that Robb had probably given up on him and he was okay with that. Who would want a dirty little cheating whore like him? He watched crime shows often and beforehand he could never understand how victims could call themselves ugly after an attack but now he was standing right in their shoes.

Ramsay words molded his mind and his very thoughts, poisoning them to think exactly what Ramsay wanted him to. He was glad that Robb gave up. He wouldn't find Theon. All he would find is a shell of the man he was before. He doubted he'd even be able to recognize him. He was deathly thin and his hair was turning slightly lighter from the malnutrition. He looked more like a ghost then he did a man.

In a year from now he wondered what he would look like. He laughed at the thought of him having a long white beard much like Catelyn's old friend Rodrick Cassel. He laughed so hard that his stomach couldn't take it and he actually ended up dry heaving on all fours. Theon hated how weak he had become. When he was younger he almost never used to throw up but now it was intertwined as part of his daily routine.

"Yara….She gave up on me too. My family…" He was holding back his emotions as he had been doing for so long but now that he thought of Yara he was trying his best to be brave like she told him. 

"Ramsay. He's my family now. A family would care about you. They aren't meant to…meant to…Yara please. Don't leave me here." He cried out, scaring the dogs once more. He was having a mild panic attack, back when the police were dragging him away from his father and sister at the ripe old age of nine years old. His vision was flashing of the memories as he watched as he was ripped away from Yara and Balon. Yara hadn't shown any emotion that day and while she had done it to make the departure less hard for him Theon didn't see it that way. He saw it as she was glad to get rid of him. It was just like that all over again.

Sure she had been happy when he had returned and she had warned him never to do it again but during one of Ramsay's flogging sessions, he had made his point very vocal how Yara had given up on him as well, quoting that "Yara despised you since the moment you were born. Me taking you was the best thing to ever happen to her."

"I can't. My life is this now. I have to survive. I have salt in my blood." His family's words were coming to him but he felt as if he no longer belonged to that house. The words he had been told repeatedly was that of "Our blades are sharp", and by repeatedly he meant that while flaying his pinkie toe one day he decided to tell him the history of the Bolton's and he just happened to bring it up.

He had to make the choice.

Die as Theon or survive as Reek.

Ramsay had been generous to give him a small bowl of water. He still had a little bit left and he used this to look at himself, his eyes were not his own, his hair was not his, nothing was his. All belonged to Ramsay Bolton. This only made his decision the slightest bit easier. He put his back to the cell wall and patiently for his master's return. He just knew what he had to do.

He could hear Ramsay's car driving in and he knew he was ready to let Theon go. It was better than he was dead so when the time was right he could come back and be free from this once and for all. He didn't know when that day would come but he wouldn't be Theon for a while. He would become what Ramsay wanted for the time being.

Ramsay walked in merrily as ever with two big bags of dog food in his hand as well as a white plastic bag with god knows what in it. Theon swallowed anything that would make his resist and prepared himself for what he was about to do for after he did this there would be no turning back. Past the point of no return.

"Good news Reek. I got a new knife and I couldn't wait to use it." He entered the kennels and tossed the bags of dog food down while he walked onto the last pen at the end where he had set Theon up. He walked up to the door and looked down at him.

"Hold out your hand, let me cut it." He said while taking the new blade out of the shopping bag. It looked expensive by the looks of the leather bound handle and the Damascus finish.

Theon did as he was told without question. Ramsay picked up on this and put the knife slowly back into the bag. He had followed that command way too easily for his liking. Theon had fought him back slightly earlier when he was being beaten with one of Roose's fancy canes. Then he seemed almost too eager to obligate.

"You seem awfully compliant today. Is something the matter?" He asked wondering if something had happened while he was gone. He would have to watch the footage from the cameras he kept in the kennels. Ramsay found it a shame that they didn't have audio as he would have loved to hear what he said while he was out.

"I will follow your every order Mi'lord. That's what I'm meant to do." He said in the ultimately defeated voice. Theon wasn't sure what face overcame his captor but it seemed to twist into a confused but psychotically delighted smile. Ramsay dropped the bag as in made a clanging noise on the floor. His Reek had finally accepted his identity. It had taken long enough but as Ramsay's father often scolded him better late than never. He couldn't feel true joy without bloodshed being involved but this came pretty close.

"Wait a second. Have you-?" Ramsay looked him up and down just to make sure he wasn't making it up. He saw the body language and make sure he wasn't lying. He was unsure of it, this could have been Theon trying to trick him again. Theon reached up from the cage to him and tried to give him his hand. Ramsay was reluctant to take it but instead opened the cage door.

Theon didn't move but he remained sitting on his knees looking up at Ramsay. Theon's held out his hand, palm face up while Ramsay simply looked down at it, utterly intrigued by what was unfolding before him.

"I am yours." The words tasted like pure cyanide of his tongue. He hated having to do this but there was no other way around it. He knew that if he didn't submit know he would be so broken that there would be no going back even if he did get therapy. He wouldn't allow that to happen. Ramsay's own hand was now inches above Theon's. Theon sweated waiting for the response.

He was sick of being the damsel in distress now he needed to just survive. Escape would be impossible he knew that much but surviving was another thing. He felt it was the only thing that gave him any satisfaction anymore.

What Ramsay didn't know was the Theon would now begin playing a game of his own. A game where he was the only player and the rules were simple. Survive long then Ramsay and he would win. He reached out a hand to Ramsay and Ramsay took it with the slightest bit of hesitation. He hadn't expected him to break now but he was glad that it had happened sooner than anticipated. He had been a slow learner but it seems like the weeks of torture had finally settled in and he was now his.

"For how long?" Ramsay asked just to make sure that he was being 100% genuine in his answer. He waited so long for him to finally break but now that the moment had arrived he savored every moment of it. All of the work over the past two months had finally paid off. However, he would need a test to tell if he truly had become his. He had just the thing in mind and he would work on getting it sorted right away.

"Now and always." Said Reek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ramsay tests the newly turned Reek's loyalty to him by taking him out on a little field trip.


	14. The Temptation Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theon and Ramsay's date is of to a swimming start while Yara and Jon have a little heart to heart.

Ramsay hadn't shown much care for doing romantic things. He would say that they were but they really weren't. Case and point the _Romantic_ dinner that had made Theon to take part in a couple of weeks ago. Theon was dreading what was going to happen. Ramsay had him lying down in the backseat of the car. Ramsay's car had tinted windows for extra measure but he wanted to be sure that no one would see him on the way to the date spot.

Ramsay had called a week in advanced to make sure there would be no suspicion whatsoever. While it was a date to Ramsay it was also a test for the newly turned Theon. When Theon would realise where they were he would be tempted to run, it would have been easy. It was a public place after all and it was a bright and sunny Saturday afternoon so lots of people would have been about.

Theon had been asleep for the majority of the car journey. He didn't know if it was exhaustion or just how comfortable the seat were compared to the cold floor but he was out as soon as he was shoved into the back.

When Ramsay stopped the car he turned round and expected him to be awake. When he saw him passed out he feared for a moment that he might have actually died and this whole trip would have been for nothing. Then he saw the shallow breathing and took a moment to just look at him. It reminded him why he liked Theon. He was vulnerable. His sleeping form was him at the height of his helplessness, unable to fight back and blissfully unaware of anything that would happen.

A bright light woke Theon up from his nap and was awoken to the sight of Ramsay with his phone in hand. He could guess that Ramsay had forgotten to turn the flash off on his phone while trying to get a picture of him. He knew that Ramsay had taken lots of pictures of him before but this was the first incident where he had let him know he was taking it.

"Good morning. Have a nice nap?" He asked lifting up his chin. Ramsay seemed to be in a jovial mood so Theon knew by now to play along.

"Yes mi'lord." He decided that it was the best answer. He noticed how badly his voice was shaking. One of Ramsay's quirks was that he like himself to be called "Mi'lord" he supposed it was another power kink he had. He didn't want to have to do it but if it meant surviving the psychopath then he didn't really have much say in the matter. It was really old sounded then again anyone who had a basement like that would have a thing for medieval times.

"Good, you're going to need your strength for today." This made Theon shift uncomfortable. When Ramsay said it required physical strength he knew he was going to either have to put up with being beaten within an inch of his life or he was going to go through something much, much worse. When he failed to get a reaction from Theon he ignored it this once. He could understand how confused he must have been. Being brought to the outside for the first time in at least a month, maybe 2.

Ramsay took a pause to look outside. He was ready to let Theon know what was about to happen. He knew that he had said he was loyal but this needed to be proven. Ramsay knew while it was mostly true he needed to be sure any Theon Greyjoy that was left had been beaten out of him.

"Do you smell that Reek?" He said not making eye contact but rather focusing on the environment outside. Theon was confused but he did as he was told. He feared what he would do if he didn't.

It took a couple of moment before he final was able to get a good smell of what it really was. Ramsay had only previously created the smell but this was the real deal. There was no way in hell he could mistake the smell of the sea. Pure salty delight. Theon then took another deep inhale and had a slither of happiness before he remembered who had brought him here.

"Yes master." He said with a small underlying tone of happiness. Ramsay would take it away soon so he might as well enjoy it now.

"What is it?" Ramsay asked just to make sure that his Reek knew what was going on. Also let him know that he was the one in control.

"The sea." Ramsay hadn't allowed him to look outside yet but he knew that smell of by heart. Sure the bath from previously had a similar smell but there was nothing like the real deal. It almost made him feel like he was back home. With Robb and the other Stark family members having fun days at the beach. He could remember when he and the kids would splash about in the water and he would kick over Jon's sand castle because Yara had told him it was what good friends did. Catelyn hadn't been to impressed that she had to sort the two of them out instead of helping Sansa bury Ned up to his head in sand. Ramsay was surprised when he gave a small smile and a quiet laugh disguised as a cough.

"That's right. I've decided we're going on a little boat trip." He said as he allowed him to look up at the surroundings. Theon could see out but he knew that these were tinted windows and almost certain no one would be able to see him clearly enough to recognise him.

"Look over there Reek. Look." He pulled him up so he could see what Ramsay wanted him to look at. He just assumed it was going to be a trick, a salt water tank filled with some kind of sharp toothed fish. He would have much preferred that. What he saw was undoubtedly worse.

Theon now saw the game he was playing. He had taken him to a boat rental place. The Greyjoy boat rental building. And there working by the boats was none other than his sister Yara. She seemed more vigorous than usual. Unbeknown to him, she was working so hard to try and move on from the funeral she had gone to two weeks prior. Yara was working at the desk. Even though Theon was far away he could recognise that she was yelling at an employee who probably messed something up. He knew the exact lip movements that she made, almost down to the little bit of spit that always came out when she used the word idiot.

"You're smart enough to know what you must do. Or what you mustn't do. Don't call for help. Just watch." He said as he rummaged through a bag of miscellaneous items.

"While I'm having a little chat with your sister I want you to put these on."

Theon was rather sharply handed a bundle of unfolded clothes. From what he could guess it was a hoodie a pair of new trousers and a hat that would probably cover his face. He began to put them on but Ramsay grabbed him sharply by the arm.

"Hello I'm here to rent the honeymoon boat for the day." He said in the most casual voice he could. Yara seemed confused but then remembered.

"Of course. You're Mr Snow?" She looked at him and he didn't seem like the usual type of groom. Most of the men who came to rent the specific boat he asked for were cleanly shave and

"Yes. I see you've been expecting me." He said as cocky as hell.

"What's the name of your wife? I don't mean to pry but we need the names of all couples for legal reasons." She explained. She often didn't like dealing with the recently married couples as they were often the happiest and schmaltziest people which made her sick. Giving her current emotional state it made her even angrier at their happiness. She didn't get jealous easily but she loathed how they were so carefree when she had so much shit to deal with.

"Husband actually. Alfie Snow. Is it possible for you to put Reek in brackets? It's a little inside joke we have." He joked. He didn't want to plain out say his name was Reek as that was something that could be easily looked into.

She took a moment to actually comprehend what he had said. She fumbled to get a pen to write the oddly specific detail down. "That's no problem. A bit of an unusual nickname though."

"Wonderful. Don't worry it will make him laugh." He reassured her. She looked at him again with uncertainty but continued. Yara simply decided to go with the notion that it was one of the weirder customers she had been forced to deal with yet somehow he wasn't the strangest. That notion went to a dwarf who had insisted that he bring 8 girls onto the one boat at the same time. Yara remembered laughing when Theon came back from the clean-up.

"Okay. You have it until midnight. Don't make too much of a mess." She joked. She went to nudge Theon by her side but when he elbow hit nothing but the air she was given a cruel reminder that he wasn't there anymore.

Yara seemed to get a little emotional for a moment. She promised herself not to cry in front of customers as it often created a bad public image. She couldn't help it when she ended up wiping away on or two stray tears. "I'm sorry. It's just my brother and I always used to get into fights about who would clean the sheets. He's no longer around."

"I'm sorry to hear that. I don't mean to pry but _was_ your brother Theon Greyjoy?" He had place specific emphasises on the "was" seeing as how Theon's transformation had come about and now he was his Reek.

Theon could see everything from the car. He wanted nothing more than to run to her and tell her that it was him who had been torturing him and how he was sorry for being so weak. That was all that he wanted to do. Ramsay's games often meant that he had controls in place to make sure he followed the rules.

His mind was keeping him firmly rooted in his seat. He stayed put in the car, he was a good dog.

He had unknowingly saved his sisters life. Some of Ramsay's friends had called in to keep an eye on him if he did anything. Ramsay promised that they would get a special treat later. He was still decided what it was but he could guess that his Reek would be involved. Ramsay didn't mind his pet doing sexual favours for his friends just so long as he remembered who he belonged to at the end of the day. Ramsay was a spoiled little child and Theon was his doll to do whatever he wanted.

After the police scene he no longer had any fear of pulling of stunts like this. He had already done the riskiest one by having physically kidnapped Catelyn but it was no longer about other people and the reactions he could get from them. No it was all about bringing Theon to his most vulnerable point and making sure that he was truly Reek. His broken little slave.

"Yes. Did you hear about it on the news?" Yara asked taking Ramsay's thoughts away from Theon and back onto her. Ramsay could feel his blood pumping. So close to someone who could try and kill him if she found out that he was the source of all of her misery.

"Awful stuff. Well I'm sure he's in a better place." Theon could see how cool he was playing it but on the inside he somehow knew that Ramsay was inches away from losing it with laughter or something worse.

Theon was shaking so badly and he was torn on what to do. His hand was hovering over the handle but the training by Ramsay was making the action physically impossible for him to do. He was going into a mental breakdown but he had to stay put. His breathing became heavy and he was silently crying. He could feel Ramsay making glances at him. If he saw him crying he could guess he would be badly beaten for it.

He saw them both shaking hands and he bit his lip hoping to god that that was the end of the deal done and he could be taken away from all of this. His master would take him away and make everything better.

"Thank you." She wiped the stray tear from her eye yet again. One of the things that she noticed was how nice everyone had become since Theon was murdered. It became annoying how strangers could think that they knew everything about her. What was worse was the sympathy she constantly had shaved into her face. It was good at the start but god did it get annoying.

She handed Ramsay the key and wished he would leave. He did exactly that. He thanked her and left without saying another word to her. His heart about to burst with the thrill of it all. Ramsay sat back down in the car and was as he expected there was a very tense, very sweaty Theon. He was on the brink of losing it. Just how Ramsay liked him. He knew he wouldn't though, he had trained him too well for that.

Theon shuddered as he felt Ramsay lean in close, his eyes darting to the side just so could avoid looking at his eyes. Ramsay seemed insulted by this and brought his head up to look at him.

"I'm surprised that you stayed. But it was good that you did. Your whore sister said that the business was running a lot smoother now she doesn't have to pay another person." He said as only now he urged him to put on the clothes he had brought.

This actual did get to Theon as he could easily imagine his sister saying something like that. She often complained how he was taking away from her pay check but she always said in jokingly. Theon, unfortunately, could never make the distinction between the two.

As soon as Theon had gotten into the disguise they made their way silently and quickly to the boat. Beforehand Ramsay sent one of his friends to go and distract Yara so that she wouldn't see him. Also with Theon wearing the disguise he was certain that no one they knew would be able to see them.

Theon couldn't help but look around as he was shuffling towards the pier. He couldn't classify it as walking as he could only move a small amount with each step. His legs were still adorned with the knife marks and bruises, even a couple of bite marks could be seen if you looked hard enough.

He could see people out of the corner of his eye staring at him and noting how he was moving. Ramsay seemed to pick up on the sideways glances and then knew that it was time to look like a true romantic couple. He picked Theon up and then carried him bridal style, Theon held the pained scream.

"Kiss me and laugh." He said whispering into his ear. Theon being the loyal Reek that he was did as he was told. It was the least convincing thing he had ever done in his life but when Ramsay stared down at him he kissed him hard and then acted as though he was with Ro….

For his sake he needed to stop thinking about that. He thought he had but he would still sometimes get the stray thought, him and Robb just lying on the grass like they used to and just look up at the sky, wondering what the future had in store for them. It was clear what the future had in store for him. Nothing but pain and the occasional twisted kindness.

The stares seemed to go away and Theon felt glad. As long as no one suspected anything then he'd be okay. No human contact was a good thing. He knew it was fucked but it was survival. When they were on the boat and out of sight he threw Theon to the ground hard and watched in delight as his head whacked against the hard wooden floor.

"You know how to drive one of these things don't you? Well do it. I have to get some things sorted. I trust you." He said leaving him by the ship controls. Theon hesitated for a moment. Ramsay had let him get control over something. In a weird really messed up way he was kind of grateful to Ramsay for letting him have this. Ramsay's influence over him was growing more and more as each day passed. Reek was actually beginning to take form even though Theon wouldn't admit it.

"So this is it huh? Classy. I'm paying for it using the money from your wallet anyway so I'm not bothered by the expenses." Theon wasn't surprised as he had been on this boat dozens of times cleaning up. He hated the way that Yara would always make him do the clean-up but then again he would take clean it up any day over being in the situation he was in now.

Ramsay patted him on the back causing Theon to flinch hard. The scars from the first week still hadn't had time to properly heal. Even with the lightest touch it could still cause agonising pain. His body language was that of a traumatised dog. Constantly shaking, looking around due to the slight paranoia and not being able to make eye contact.

Theon was able to start up the boat with ease despite his hand shaking half the time. He could drive a ship before he could walk. His father said it was an important skill in the family business. It gave him a small sense of the being back in his prime, on the ocean. He knew he would only get a moment of happiness so he enjoyed every millisecond of it. The boat was designed so that the water couldn't be on your face but Theon was content enough just looking at it and the smell was strong enough so that he could feel like it was the open waters on his face.

He drove it out for about 20 minutes and then he felt Ramsay's strong hand grab his shoulder and tell him it was far enough. Ramsay had to tell him only once for him to take his hands of the wheel and turn the machine off.

Ramsay led him to the room where the couples enjoyed the majority of the boat trip. The bedroom. It was a big king sized bed, with glasses for champagne and a couple of other romantic essentials. Theon had once begged Yara to get rid of it but she had denied it said it "Raked in enough to pay for the entire wedding without having to let Robb pay for any of it."

"Well I think it's time we enjoy." Theon knew exactly by that he meant that he enjoy himself while he was left to suffer. He felt Ramsay pushing him down onto the bed and instead of pulling his belt down as he anticipated he instead decided that he had a different event in mind for him.

Just as he was thinking that Ramsay pulled out a crowbar.

Yara was waiting up late. The last time she checked her watch it had read as 1:03 in the morning. She was used to staying up late and just thinking about things. She knew that she should be getting the rest but she couldn't help it. If she didn't sleep should wouldn't be forced to replay the memories of Theon in her head. It was getting better as each day passed but it still hurt.

She was lazily flipping through her phone and texting Dany when she heard the door alarm going off. She was hoping that it would have been _Domeric_ with the keys to the boat. Unfortunately it wasn't but it was someone who she could tolerate and could keep her company until they couple arrived back on dry land.

"Jon."

"Yara. I know you don't want to speak to Robb at the moment but I wanted to check up on you. I brought you coffee." He showed his peace offering of two fresh cups of coffee in the air. He and Yara were still on good terms but they hadn't really chatted much and he felt like he should stop by and see how she was holding up. He had only gotten of the shift himself and he too needed the caffeine to get by.

She snatched it from him and took a big gulp. She ignored how much it was burning her and took it down in one shot, a talent she had learned at various bars and strip clubs. Jon watched with interested eyes but didn't say anything. He was concerned but before he could voice these concerns he was cut off by the woman, knowing exactly the words that would come pouring out of his mouth.

"I'm fine Jon. It's late you should be home." She said as she threw the empty cup in the bin that was under the desk. It hadn't been taken out in a while. A job that Theon used to do.

"I could say the same." Jon said while slowly sipping at the coffee, choosing to savour it instead of using it up all in one go like she did.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Trust me I would. I'm waiting for the honeymoon couple to come back."

"Honeymoon couple?" He asked confused. He didn't really know much about the Greyjoy family business but he knew enough that he couldn't see how weddings fitted into it.

Yara gave him the 'really Jon' look before deciding to gratefully fill him in on what was going on. "A man reserved a boat a week ago. It's for couples to go out on so they can fuck after their wedding. Popular with the iron born people. Something about the sea just gets them turned on." He choked on the current sip he was taking. Yara really had a way with words sometimes.

He used his sleeve to wipe away the coffee that was now around his mouth. "Too much information Yara."

"I don't care." She said jokingly. She didn't know why but for some reason she got along better with Jon then she ever did with Robb and Jon snow was kind of a em"little bitch"/em as she liked to call them. He had a good sense of justice and she could easily annoy him which made her laugh and he was okay with that. Laughter is what she needed right now.

They were having a couple minutes joking when they heard the small door buzzer go off. As she suspected it was the man from before leaving back the key.

"Thank you again. I and my husband had a pleasant experience." He had to admit, it had been pretty thrilling to torture him while on the water. He hoped that in the future he could associate the smell of the salt water with the cracking of his bones and the sensation of the water filling up his lungs. He'd pay good money to see the once proud Greyjoy scared of the water. He wouldn't even torture him next time he'd just take him on another boat trip and watch his panicking. That'd be fun. It would be like watch a squid on dry land, squirming and wriggling about.

Yara was more than happy to take the keys back but as they were being handed back to her Jon caught something out of the corner of his eye. "Are you okay? You have a drop of blood on your shirt." He pointed specifically towards the small dot of red that appeared on the white shirt he had chosen.

This caught him by surprise. He was sure that the extra shirt he had brought had been cleaned. He knew that he shouldn't have put it on before tossing the bloodied sheets overboard. His mind searched to make up a good excuse on the spot. "Yeah, we like to go a bit rough. You don't need to hear the details." He coughed out while trying to act as innocent as possible.

While Yara just assumed that this was an innuendo Jon didn't seemed convinced. Something about the delivery seemed forced to him. He scoped the man up and down but he seemed normal. However with him being a detective he noticed one small out of place detail that stood out like a sore thumb. The blood seemed oddly out of place. He had no shaving cuts and it didn't make sense that he could get it bloodied from sex.

"Don't I recognise you? You seem familiar." Jon said trying to place the face. He knew that there was no way he could forget those eyes. They looked like icicles and he assumed that if he ever got angry they looked like they could stab you.

"I found the keys. That time before." He said hoping that it should be sufficient for Jon to drop the matter and move on. Jon took a moment to remember that far back and he did recollect seeing him at the station. "Oh yes. I'm sorry I didn't recognise you. Things have been crazy for a while."

"Understandable. Anyway, thank you for boat. My partner seemed to enjoy it as well." He said. He had a sense for knowing when people were suspicious and the bastard was trying to read him like an open book. He went to turn but it seemed that he had other ideas.

"Where is he? Your husband?" Jon asked, knowing that the question would provoke him even more. Ramsay would make sure that he deal with the bastard later. This was psychological warfare but neither of them knew how much the other knew.

"He's asleep in the car. He won't be walking for a while now I can tell you that." Ramsay tried to joke. He was trying to make it sound as dirty as possible to try and off put the detective. Ramsay's rage was bubbling underneath and that was never a good thing. This wasn't like the rage he had with Theon. This was pure hatred. Hatred for knowing that he could catch him now and ruin his little game.

Ramsay got a quick flash back to nor more than two hours ago when he patted Theon's legs but they didn't respond to the touch. Or at least not with much movement. Ramsay supposed that he shouldn't have brought the crow bar with him but he couldn't help but use it. He was trying not to make it to obvious that he was happy at the statement. He remembered the cracking sound as he hit Theon's ankle. He knew it hadn't completely broken so he would be able to walk but it would be total agony for him otherwise.

"Suppose that's a good thing then. Thank you and we hope you come back again." Yara said simply wanting to get home. She could sense an odd tension between the two and she was honestly too tired to deal with all of this. She supposed it was a good thing that for the first time in a while she was actually wanting to get some sleep.

"I might. Goodnight." Ramsay said. He gave them a quick wave before leaving the shop. He thought that he had

They both ended up looking at him. His choice of words almost seemed like he was trying to tell a joke that neither of them understood.

Yara was of course the one to break the tense moment but not so subtly saying the obvious. "The hell was that?"

Jon rubbed his shoulder even though it wasn't cold, he was cold from the shiver running down his spine. "I don't know. Something about him seemed…odd." It also struck him as odd how he was showing up yet again. He knew it was probably just the case that had him on edge so he let it go for now but he would still keep tabs on the stranger.

"Come on Jon." Yara said dragging him out the doors with her keys in hand ready to shut the door. Ramsay had practically run back to the car so he wouldn't have to have any more confrontation with them.

When he got back to the car he found Theon falling asleep in the backseat. He hadn't quite done it yet. He got out his phone once more but this time he remembered to turn the flash off. He had taken lots of pictures and videos of him before and these were defiantly joining the collection he had in his phones photo album. He always took ones whether he was in pain or when he was looking especially _cute_. He could also see how even in his sleep his behaviour was still shaky.

He was proud. He had several opportunities to try and betray him but he didn't take a single one of them. He was glad that he had finally been able to reduce Theon to what he wanted. True he would no longer provide the same initial fight and chase that made him start of this to begin with but then again having him be so loyal to him made up for it with the limitless opportunities he could do with it. Perhaps he could do something very twisted with it like maybe kidnapping the youngest stark boy and have Theon watch as he tortured him. He made a quick mental note of something he could do later on.

He tapped Theon gently on the head which in return got him to shudder away. He brought Theon's mouth up to his own and kissed him for the last time that day. "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship. I love you Reek."

"I love you too." Theon said meekly. He just lay there as he let Ramsay stroke him and touch him in a way that he would have only let Robb do once before.

It would be the last time in a long while that he would see anyone he knew. Soon he would get help but he'd just have to go through a little more hell. The true question of the matter was if there would be any Theon left when he was done.

This would be the longest game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next: The rescue begins....


	15. The Ring Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robb finds the missing piece of the puzzle and the final game is about to begin.

Late nights at the lab were something that Robb had gotten rather used to. He had spent a lot of time there as he really didn't have much else to be doing. He hadn't had much to do for the past year. In fact coming up to the recent days he was trying to keep as busy as possible. It was coming up on the one-year anniversary of the night that Robb Stark regretted most in his life.

The year had been fine overall, apart from a couple of Joffery's attempts to rekindle his love with Sansa and 4 more bodies piling up with X's burned onto them. It should have been making Robb sad but it only fuelled his rage to find him more. His therapist was helping with his anger issues but still, he needed to find this killer if he was going to make any useful progress.

It had been a long day. They had had to put the Mister X case only hold as there was a new prominent case concerning the murder of Tywin Lannister. The circumstances he had died in were unusual, to say the least. He had been shot 3 times with a medieval crossbow while he was on the toilet. While they had interrogated Cersei and Jamie they had concluded that it was Tyrion who had done it. The fact that they had to stop looking for X annoyed Robb greatly but having a complex case having nothing to do with the memory of Theon made Robb feel a little bit better. Only a little bit though.

He was finishing up looking at the map of possible locations of where Tyrion could be hiding that when he decided that he had done enough work for the day. He put the papers into the file and put on his coat. He would have made it out the door but Brienne who was typing up a report decided to inquire about his plans for the evening. She too knew that it was coming up to the date so she thought it best to ask if he was doing okay.

"So Robb, what are you doing after work?" She asked taking her eyes away from the screen. Robb could tell exactly what she was doing and while he personally just wanted to get out of there he didn't want her worrying about him.

"I'm going to drink." He said casually as if it was nothing more than a night out.

"The Inn at the crossroad?" She had heard that it was his go-to pub of choice. She only went in for the food but she didn't mind a good drink now and again. She would accompany him but her work needed to be done for tomorrow and she didn't want Jamie bitching at her in the morning.

"No, there was a kitchen fire. There's a bar that's really quiet. It's secluded, no one will look for me there." He was tired of acting okay all day and this was his way of subtly letting her know that he just needed some time to be by himself. Over the past year he had honestly been okay for the most part but sometimes when he woke up in the apartment there were days when he found it hard to even look at the living room. If he was having a bad enough day and his guilt levels were high enough then he would still sometimes hear his voice. The last words that he ever spoke to him.

"You sure you don't want me and Jamie to join you?" She offered but somehow knew what he was going to say. He clearly considered it for a moment but decided that he just needed to be alone for tonight.

"I'm sure. I just need to drown my sorrows in alcohol. I'll be okay by tomorrow." He said a joke, really coating the dark truth. He wasn't in the mood. She nodded in understanding and let him go on his way. Robb left without a word. He hadn't been emotional about it that much over the last 5 months but somehow he still felt like just letting it all out to Brienne. He had to move on and that meant not crying at the drop of a hat.

It was around October and the weather was beginning to change. He zipped up his jacket and tried to keep himself as war as possible. He hoped another advantage of the booze would be protecting him from the cold.

The Winds of Winter were coming but Robb had soon to realize that it would be the least of his problems of the coming night.

Robb had only been at the pub for 25 minutes. He had only had one drink so far but he was sipping at it slowly. He was filled with regret and the only way to get rid of it was to drown himself in alcohol in the hopes he would kill off enough brain cells to forget about it by the morning. He wouldn't guess that he would be leaving any second now.

He was sitting at the bar instead of the table. He wanted to be as close to the drink as possible. Also it was the definite warmest place in the bar. As he looked at the bottles of liquid he looked at an orange looking drink and smiled. He remembered how Theon would use to order it at parties. Robb personally thought that it tasted like a bag of sugar mixed with lemon zest but Theon would always make him take a sip just in case his opinion of it had changed. It was a cute, albeit sometimes annoying, habit. That was what Robb missed the most. Little details.

He took another small sip, he hardly even noticed when another man came and sat beside him, looking for the bartender's attention. Robb simply assumed he was like him, here to try and forget about his problems.

The bartender looked at Robb and sighed. The man's name was Gendry and Robb recognized him as one of Arya's old friends but since no one had really seen him in a while talking to him was awkward so there was always awkward silences. Last Robb heard he had been a rowing champion somewhere in Dragonstone. Funny how things worked in the world.

"Hey I lost my keys again." The one sitting beside Robb asked. He knew that would be him in about 5 hours. He would hate having to call Jon but he'd rather not pass out in the street. He didn't want to admit but he wasn't a full alcoholic but he noticed in the past month his alcohol intake had increased dramatically.

"Sure Gared, take a look in the lost box." Gendry took out the lost property box and handed it to the man with the t-shirt of a tree with a sword on it. He was clearly a regular but Robb recognized him from somewhere else. Then it hit him. He worked for the Forrester family whose youngest boy, Ethan, had been killed by Mister X as well. He hadn't suffered long but to die at such a young age made Robb shiver and take another gulp to calm his nerves. It had been a grizzly sight from what Jon said. A knife had been jammed into his throat and he had been left to bleed out in the arms of his mother. Barbaric was what it was.

The man dug around the box while Gendry kept an eye on him. Robb avoided eye contact with both. He could personally feel the awkwardness while the other two didn't seem to mind. It was then when he seemed to pull something out that wasn't his keys.

"You still kept this old ring?" Gared asked looking at it. Robb still hadn't seen it at this point. It still looked as good as the day it had been bought. Sadly it hadn't seen much use.

Robb still didn't care about the conversation the two were having. He kept on sipping until he heard something that nearly made him spit it out. "The one with the pearl and the Kraken on it. It's a beauty. I was going to pawn it but I couldn't get rid of it. Thought that they might come back one day. Looked like a cute couple thought the iron born one was drunk as Tyrion Lannister."

Robb was almost spinning and it wasn't from the alcohol in his veins. The missing clue had been here the whole time. He wondered why this bar hadn't been checked before. Then he remembered how far he was from where they found the car. A deliberate trick to throw them off the trail. A trick that had worked.

"Wait let me see!" Robb said louder than he should have. Gared didn't even get a moment before it was snatched away. He took the ring and only had to look at it for a second until he realized that it was Theon's. He felt over it and he cried with a mix of happiness, cruel suffering and the desperate feeling of being overwhelmed. Something he had buried long ago resurfaced. 

The two men looked to him. Gendry tried to ask what was wrong with it but a very angry Robb slowly lifted his head. It wasn't a clear anger. His brow was furrowed with anger but not to them. "Where did you find it?" He asked as he cleaned it tightly in his fist.

Gendry took a moment to think about it. "In the parking lot. Some drunk guy dropped it. About a year ago. We have a policy we can't throw out stuff until 2 years have passed." That was all it took for Robb to begin frantically pulling out his phone, nearly dropping it in the process. His fingers were clearly shaking but he was working frantically.

"Did the guy look like this?" He kept all of his pictures of Theon in a separate folder for two reasons. One he could find them easily and look at them if he wanted to and also in case of something like this happening. He found there were evenings he would be so close to destroying the folder but he couldn't bring himself to do it. His memories were what kept him going.

"Yeah, he left with his boyfriend though." He said putting a hand on his chin as he remembered the two of them. Robb could feel himself getting sick at the thought of the psychopath posing as his boyfriend. It was also sickening to think that they could think he was drunk when in reality he had been drugged and whisked away for 2 weeks of unbearable torture. Some of which his own mother had to sit through.

Robb had only one goal. Find out who he was, what he looked like and where he lived. "What did he look like? The boyfriend."

"He hasn't been here for a while but he still has an open tab. I got his license plate number though if that helps." This gave Robb some unease as he couldn't be in the system but if he was lucky he would be on for a minor offense. Even then he could always head to the DMV and see whose car it was. Then he would finally get answers to the question of who had ruined his life.

He could run it through that system and get an address. If Brienne knew that he was working on the case again then she would physically lock him up to get him to stop working. He couldn't let that happen. He had lost all hope of him being alive but even if he could find his body it would at least get him three things.

Closure, revenge and justice.

All for his lost love.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Robb what are you doing here at this time of night?" Brienne asked with her jacket in hand, clearly about to head home after a long night shift. She had just finished the report and was wondering why he was back here. He had seemed intent on not coming back earlier. Robb momentarily had a bit of a mind panic and looked for a good excuse he could say.

"I was just running a number plate." He said as he held up the small piece of paper he used to write down the number plate. It was a 50/50 chance that the number plate was in the system but even if it wasn't he could still put out a notice on it.

Brienne gave him that all-knowing look. She doubted that he would want to do that much work this late at night. Then again she knew that he wanted to keep himself occupied so he wouldn't have to deal with his emotions. "At this time of night? You sure you aren't drunk?" She said jokingly.

He didn't want Brienne to know what he was doing. If she did then she would persuade him to not follow it. That they would do it in the morning without him as it could be 'emotionally distressing'. Robb couldn't wait that long. He needed to know and now. His mother said that temper of his would get him killed one day.

"He was drunk and he nearly hit me. I hadn't even had a drink yet." Robb said nervously. He could tell his hand was fidgeting a lot so he rubbed the ring in his pocket for support. He could feel the pearl and he was brought back to the day he bought it and then back to the day when he made the proposal. It had been on Theon's day off and he decided that he wanted to treat Robb to a day out on the sea. Robb had only completed the day by dropping onto one knee and pulling the small band out. To Theon's surprise when they were back on dry land all the Starks and Greyjoy's who cared enough where there waiting with a congratulations banner. The memory had calmed Robb enough as to let make Brienne suspicious.

"Fair enough." She could see that he was being genuine or at least he was good at hiding it. She waved him goodbye and left him. She needed to get home to Tormund. They weren't sure what their relationship status was at the moment but they were living together so that was a start. It was clear that while Jamie was interested he wouldn't be able to do it because of the media circus that constantly surrounded him. He didn't want that for her. They naturally still worked together and it was surprisingly still strong after the "Twin-cest" scandal.

When he heard the door close he took a moment to breathe again and proceeded to put the rest of the number plate into the system. The computer then brought up the full details of who the car belonged to. Who Mister X was.

Ramsay Bolton, 42 dread fort lane. On record for speeding and drunk driving. 3 points.

Other useful information also popped up, like the fact that he was Roose Bolton's son and he worked with his father doing odd jobs around the docks. Little did it fail to mention that the main source of Ramsay's income was selling body parts and other various things such as stealing the funds from his victims, one of whom was as very wealthy Jeyne Poole. He'd been able to live off her bank account for good year and a half.

Robb then remembered where he had seen him before. He had been at the station with Theon's keys. He felt sick that he had been so nice to him beforehand. It then struck him that he had ties to the police station and his father was Roose Bolton who most likely had ties to the police and throughout this entire time could have been messing with the investigation. He never thought that the evidence could have been tampered with. It was no wonder Jon and the rest of the team hadn't caught him yet.

He then took a photo of the information and sent it to Jon and the only people that he trusted. He knew if he called everyone then it would end in Ramsay going on the run before they could get him. He wasn't going to let that bastard escape. Not a Jon Snow's chance in Castle Black.

Petyr was true in what he always said about Starks. They always were quick tempers and slow minds. Robb, while he was a master strategist, let his anger often cloud over everything else. This anger had also been slowly boiling over for a year. He also knew that he needed this to be personal. He also knew that if the police got to him first he would have to go through the long process of a trial and Robb was looking for blood. The law of Capital punishment was still being debated but at the moment any form of execution was banned.

Robb's had the moral compass of his father and he knew that he should leave him alive but he also had the need for revenge like his mother. He had done too much harm. He would put him into the ground even if it meant that he would go to prison as well.

Ramsay Bolton was going to die.

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Jon liked it when he didn't have to work. It meant he could spend time with Ygritte and not have to deal with anything. Not having to be reminded how he got stabbed by friends and how his half-cousins fiance had been butchered by a psychopathic serial killer a year ago. At least that's what he thought when he had gone out for the night. He and Yara were on a double date. Him and Ygritte with Daenerys and Yara. It was odd to anyone on the outside but actually, it worked rather well.

They had been talking about going to see the new movie about mythical elves and dragons when he had received a text from Robb. He went to answer his phone when Ygritte shot him a glare. He told her who it was from then she begrudgingly let him get his phone. Moments later she got the same message.

He only saw the face first. He assumed it must have been one of Robb's mates pulling a prank but then he saw the information below it and then realizes that Robb had put it into the system. He felt a sinking feeling in his stomach and it wasn't from the 6 stab wounds he had suffered at the hands of his old friends.

He then took a closer look at the picture and recognized him. He wasn't exactly sure but he knew that Yara could confirm his suspicions. "Isn't that the man who rented out the boat a couple of months ago?"

Yara took the phone out of his hand and looked at it. She too was able to recognize the man in the picture.

"Yeah, he was odd. Why did Robb send you a picture of him? Wait, He's texting back." She handed Jon the phone back and he waited anxiously for the reply. She didn't like prying into other people's personal lives. Jon bit his lip waiting for an explanation.

'If I don't come back this man is Mr. X.'

Jon nearly dropped the phone. There was only one thought running through his head on repeat. Since it was in a public place he couldn't express it but he wasn't content to yell it in his mind. "Shit! Oh for fuck's sake Robb. Fuck, Fuck, fuck, fuck, damn it fuck! " And Jon wasn't one to normal curse but he couldn't believe he had done something so idiotic. Ygritte could tell exactly what was going on in his mind and knew they would have to go sort out whatever had gone down.

"What is it?" Ygritte asked said before Yara could let everyone in the restaurant know her current feelings towards Robb. Time had only partially healed her wounds and while she was still bitter at least she could tolerate being in the same room with him.

"Ygritte, come on we have to get back to the station." He didn't even let her ask a question before he grabbed her hand and nearly yanked her out the door. He didn't want to hurt her so it was more of a gentle tug.

"What now? He's gone and accidentally married a foreign whore?" She joked while taking what she assumed would be her final sip of a cocktail.

"Robb's gotten himself into a shit load of danger." He was itching to get out of there and catch Robb before he did something stupid. He wondered why he had to be so reckless. It wasn't like he couldn't understand where he was coming from. If it had been Ygritte who had been taken instead of Theon then he probably would have done the same thing.

Ygritte rolled her eyes. Of course, his half-cousin had gotten himself into trouble. He always did. She put down the drink and slid it to Yara who would need it more than she did. Since it was coming up the anniversary the date was serving as her distraction. She had moved on but she'd rather not have to think about him today. "I'm sorry, we'll rain check and we can pick up another time." Dany said seeing how Yara was about to go off on him for leaving and how they were having a good time.

"Thanks." Jon said. He left Yara some money so that they could pay their half without having to be there. They left quickly and on the way to the station he explained what was going on and watched as Ygritte pretty much had the same reaction that he had only she verbalized it.

When they got there they ran into Brienne who was surprisingly still there at this ungodly hour. She was just as surprised to see them there and stopped in her tracks. "What are you doing here? Weren't you double dating with Yara and Dany?" She asked them.

"Where's Robb?" They both said in unison praying that he hadn't left yet. They knew that he was going to be hurt or even killed if he went in on his own. Jon already had a plan formulated. They would get all the information that they could and then swarm the place. Jon's plan was half hazed as he couldn't believe after all this time they were finally going to be able to catch him. If Robb hadn't killed him of course.

"He was running a number plate through the system last time I saw him. I only came back because I left my keys." She said picking up on how something was defiantly wrong and she hadn't been clued in yet as to what it was. There was an urgent panic and she knew it was serious.

Jon looked around and saw that all the computers were still on but none gave an indication as to which one Robb had used. "Which computer?" He said scanning them one more time. She pointed to the one Robb had been obsessing over earlier, not fully understanding what was going on.

Brienne tried to get one of them to explain what the hell was going on but Jon was too concerned with switching on the computer and pulling up what Robb had been looking at. The Profile of Ramsay Bolton was brought up and he slammed his fist on the table. It also seemed that Robb had left a word document with information on it for them to read.

_'Bar owner had Theon's ring. The Kraken one with the pearl. Said he saw Theon 'drunk' leaving with Ramsay and he found the ring on the street one year ago. I told Theon to throw away anything identifiable if he was to ever be in that situation. He said Ramsay had a tab open and he gave me the registration number. He's the son of Roose Bolton. Careful who you tell of the investigation, more than likely he will have had moles. Good luck.'_

To Jon this made perfect sense. He then punched the wall beside him. Ygritte knew it was coming while Brienne was shocked to see the normally passive snow actually violent. "I knew it! I knew he was a suspect." Ever since the little incident at Yara's shop he found the Bolton to be a suspicious figure. To think he was a serial killer made sense now he thought about it.

"Who?" Brienne's phone had died and she had forgotten her charger so she hadn't received Robb's message yet. She would have slapped him in the face if she had read it beforehand.

"We need to find Ramsay Bolton." Jon scrolled down to the address and sent out an instant message to the rest of the night watch members. He wanted them to gather here first before they did anything. They needed a plan. With Robb having gone AWOL on his own this was a more dangerous mission then they had ever faced. As they waited for everyone else to come in the got plans of the Bolton's house, possible last seen locations and anything else that could be of use.

They needed people who they could trust. If they just told everyone then it could mean that one of Ramsay's informants could give him the head up and he could escape from them. With trusted allies called and them flooding in they began their plan of action.

The final game was about to begin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: The final game. Robb and Theon finally meet again. I swear.


	16. The Final Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robb and Theon meet and Ramsay isn't pleased. Luckily for him it means another game he can play. The final game is played.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the longest chapter of the fic but for good reason. I've defiantly put the most love and care into this one. I hope it will met all of your long awaited expectations.

Ramsay Bolton was smart. Robb wouldn't like to admit it but he was very, very clever. 42 Dreadfort lane was quiet, in the middle of nowhere in fact. You couldn't hear any unusual noises apart from the noises of the nocturnal animals. The perfect location for any serial killer to commit their heinous crimes.

Robb was at the location. He had reached the home of the man who had murder countless innocent lives and was in the process of destroying his. It was a decent two story house but from the outskirts it didn't look like much. He was being as vigilant as he could, putting his police training to good use. Putting his back to the wall to make himself see invisible. He knew if he got caught he could very well be taken of the Night's watch or even be fired is the case was extreme enough.

With the evidence he had it just had to be him. All he had to do was find one crucial piece of evidence and then he could take him down.

Robb had managed to slip away around the back and from the blueprint he remembered that there was an entrance around the back, through what seemed to be a kennel area. Ramsay had made a small error in that his father had helped him build the house and since he worked in the local government it had been kept in the record office.

He also had to take into account that the dogs were probably trained to alert of any intruders in the house. He couldn't begin to imagine the feeling of them tearing into his flesh. He certainly wasn't going to die today. Not like that.

As he manoeuvred his way around he could see the kennels and he could also see how it seemed to be lit up. Someone was inside it. He didn't want to risk going in but it was the only way that he could. He supposed he could wait until he was gone.

The room was a complete enigma to him. It looked like it was straight out of the medieval time period. The room was not lit up with electric but rather with old style torches. Of course there were actual lights but he seemed to have a flair for the dramatics. As he was looking in through a small window opening he could see a figure with his back turned to him. He seemed to be getting food for the dogs.

He could see the silhouette and it didn't match Ramsay's at all. Before going in Robb tried to think of who on earth it could be. Perhaps a person he hired to do his work. Then he could see the clothes and he knew there was no way it was a servant, the state his clothes were in made him think it was someone he was keeping hostage. He was limping quite a lot and his movements were slow and clearly filled with pain.

Robb's breaths became shorter as he pushed open the door. His whole body was in but it was clear that he hadn't heard the door open and was still feeding the dogs. Even though he thought he was alone Robb picked up on how much truly his body was shaking. He didn't want to get too close in case he was on Ramsay's side so he just slowly went up and stood back from him. This was going to be a delicate situation depending on how long he had been kept here. He also had to think if he was loyal to Ramsay if he would give him up.

"Hello? My name Is Robb Stark I'm with the police. I'm here to help you." He said expecting him to turn around and face him.

The stranger did something unexpected. His whole body stopped momentarily with the shaking and dropped the bag of dog food on the floor. The food came crashing down and the kibble went flying everywhere. He could hear his breathing and Theon needed something to distract himself so he dropped to his knees and tried to pick up the pieces that had scattered on the floor. His bandaged covered hand clawing at the cobblestoned floor.

Theon, who had been tending to Kyra at the moment due to her being pregnant with puppies, stopped. For the millionth time since coming here he couldn't breathe only this time it was the emotions making his neck feel like a vice instead of his master's large hands. This wasn't normal though. This was sheer panic. He knew whose voice it was and he knew what it would mean for him if Ramsay happened to come down to check on him. He turned his head around for a second but when he saw Robb's eyes he turned away again.

Theon had never had any contact with any other people apart from Ramsay and when his friends came to play. Theon could see Robb's eyes and he felt like he was emotionally collapsing. He had been Reek for the past 12 months and the part of his mind he had locked away was resurfacing only slightly. The part that longed for freedom, the part that was still Theon. Unfortunately Reek was still in control and he knew exactly what would happen next in this tragic tale if he didn't do something.

Robb didn't recognise him and to be honest he didn't know himself anymore either. He didn't qualify for being called skin and bones. He needed actual skin for that to be true. Ramsay had peeled away layer after layer, leaving him in a constant state of pain. His bones could be felt easily too. He supposed the biggest reason why was because of his face. The sunken and diluted eyes said it all.

He tried his best to hide back in his pen but Ramsay had locked him out, most likely meaning that tonight he wanted him as a bed warmer and his skin was crawling at the thought but having done it all throughout the year he should have been used to it. His nails were already broken but they began bleeding once more as he used what little strength he had to pull at the bars in an attempt to get away from him.

Robb back away slightly. He didn't know what he had said or done but clearly the man was freaking out. He tried to get closer but while still covering his face the man pushed Robb away. It was a pathetic push however as there was little to no strength in it at all.

"Go away…" The cracks in his voice were obvious. Theon knew what would happen. He didn't want Robb to meet this fate.

He wasn't angry with Robb. He never was. It was himself he was angry with. All this time he came to realize that everything that had happened to him was his fault. Ramsay was also good of reminding him of that fact. He couldn't put his finger on why he was here but he needed him to get out. He was out of his depth and if he didn't leave Ramsay would drag him down and make him drown.

Robb was trying his best to get him to look at him. He knew it was a scary situation but he needed to see him and tell him face to face it was going to be okay. "I'm not here to hurt you. As long as I'm here he can't get to you."

"Go…he's going to hurt you Stark…." He said giving up on trying to get away. He was preparing himself for Robb's realisation and then him saying how much he hated him and how disgusting he was. His voice may have become a lot weaker but it was still his strong accent. His voice was the one thing Ramsay couldn't take but god had he tried. Theon's teeth could feel the mark the blade made made when Ramsay had threatened to cut it out.

Robb stopped. The accent was so familiar and he thought that he knew who it was but it was impossible. He tried to get closer to the man but he kept on keeping his back turned on him. The man knew him and then it clicked into his head that it could be him. He prayed that it wasn't. He prayed that he hadn't let his love suffer this for over a year. He then thought back to everything that had happened and how they had found the fake body. It was only occurring to Robb now that he could have been manipulating the police and the DNA test that said the body was Theon's.

"Reek! What's going on down there? You're taking too long. Is Kyra having her puppies?" Ramsay yelled down. He was up in the top part of the house working on another little game for their one year anniversary. He had done a shopping haul at the hardware store and his latest construction was going to prove a good night's entertainment.

Theon looked to where the voice had come from. The shakiness in his hands came back only worse than they normally did. Robb could see the side of his face and his hopes of it being someone else was demolished like a fifty year old building. Robb took the moment to confirm his suspicions and he turned him around so he was looking him in the eyes. It was Theon and Robb nearly broke down. He knew he should have been remaining calm but he didn't think he could. Theon was alive. He was actually alive. He was so happy that he wasn't dead but that feeling was overtaken by seeing what he had become.

Theon held up his hands over his face to shield him from Robb's intense gaze. This was when Robb had noticed a small amount of the damage he had done. Instead of having a normal 10 fingers there was only 7 full fingers and 3 stubs of varying lengths. From the off colour that they were it was clear there was no proper medical attention given to them. Robb hoped that when Jon came they would bring an ambulance with them. They were covered in dirty brown rags that had been caked in dried blood.

Then there was the smell on to of everything else. God it was like he had taken all of the corpses that were lying in the morgue and had dragged them through a sewer and them left them to bake in the heat of the summer. It was worse then the impoverished areas of Kings Landing and that was saying a lot. Robb took a look at the empty kennel and put two and two together that it was where Ramsay was making him sleep.

Theon was sickly pale, like the life had been choked out of him and from the bruises on his neck that was exactly what it was. It was the colour of curdled cream with lumps on his skin in the form of little scars from god knows what. Theon happened to be wearing a long sleeve top but the collar had been torn and he could defiantly see how the marks went down onto his abdomen and arms. He could guess that the damage was a lot worse underneath. It was extremely loose fitting too which gave Robb the assumption that his body showed just as much bone as his face did.

Theon's head was covered in white hair. It was like his entire body had been drowned in bleach and had been held under for too long. It seemed as though even as he was on dry land he was still drowning. He surprisingly didn't have any form of facial hair, apart from a little bit of white stubble. This was because Ramsay was taking Roose's advice for once in that it was better to have a shaven servant. Roose had only meant it in terms of professionalism but of course Ramsay took it as sexual, and he hated when he could feel Theon's stubble when he was sucking on his cock.

He eyes were sunken and they were brimming with fear. Robb felt sick that Theon was scared of him. He looked like a beaten puppy. Robb was instantly trying to get closer but the closer he got the more terrified Theon was. Theon only knew that when people got close to you they normally wanted to hurt you. His assumption was that Robb was going to say some remarks about how disgusting he was. He looked like he was about to burst into tears.

"No-n-nothing, Do-m-meric. I'll be up in a second." He yelled back up realising that he hadn't answered him yet. He seemed out of breath when he had done. Robb did want to question why he said Domeric instead of Ramsay but if he was being honest that was the last of his questions. All of his questions were along the lines of was he okay and how did he survive for a whole year.

He needed to think of something to say but he couldn't think of anything that could make this better.

"Theon... I'm so sorry." Robb had always been told that he wasn't exactly good with words but worked better with actions. The thing was in this specific situation he didn't know what would be okay and not. Theon was scared and confused more in this moment then he had been before in the house. It was drilled into his brain at this point how Robb never loved him and there had been the evidence that Ramsay provided him with. Robb's voice on repeat sometimes for hours on end, tormenting him. Of course these had all been phrases that Ramsay had taken out of context and wrapped to meet his twisted purpose of further torturing his pet.

"Reek. My name is Reek." He said in a voice that was slightly louder than a whisper. Robb was trying to apologize to a dead person. Theon was dead. Reek had to kill him and bury him deep. Ramsay would know if any Theon was left. Robb could see him deep in thought. He wanted nothing more than to kiss him and tell him how he was okay and it was going to be okay. He knew this was a blatant lie but it would make him feel better.

Robb did the only thing he could and lightly patted him on the shoulders.

"Ssssshhhhh. It'll be okay. I'll come back for him later. I'll get you out of here and to a hospital. It'll be okay." He embraced Theon in a hug but didn't expect what happened next. Theon shot back and put his back to the wall, curled up into a little ball and then started to mutter something under his breath. Something along the lines of Reek, Reek rhymes with freak. The scars on his back were still sensitive to touch.

"Get out. He'll hurt you." He said in a soft spoke voice, slightly louder then the last time. It, much like his eyes, had fear written all over it. He clearly had experience of what he could do if he was angry and he being here would make Ramsay very angry. He remembered when a hitchhiker had gotten lost and had accidentally wondered into the kennels by accident. Theon could remember it being the first time he saw someone else other than himself being flayed.

"Theon I'm not-!" He tried to tell him before Theon seemed to get rather angry all of a sudden. Theon rarely allowed himself to be angry but when he was he let himself indulge. Ramsay always found a way to beat the anger out of him.

"REEK! My name is Reek. Please. Go you worthless little idiot." He had his head in his hands and he was clawing at his hair. His was clearly in distress but there was no way he was leaving him. Not now. Theon was horror stricken as he realised he had said exactly what Ramsay would say to him at least once every week. One of his worst fears was coming true. Ramsay having influence him to a point where he heard his master in his own voice.

"I'm not leaving you!" He was never going to let him out of his sight again.

As he reached out to grab Theon he was struck forcefully on the head. Robb's eyes rolled for a second before closing fully. It had been strong enough to knock him out cold while Theon was even more terrified. Standing over the body was Ramsay holding a wrench with a partial bit of blood on it. Ramsay licked his lip at the sight. Seeing bodies always made him happy.

The kennels were cold but Ramsay's presence made it drop even lower. Grejoy had never quite gotten used to seeing bodies despite how many times Ramsay brought them and made him help in the process of cleaning up. Ramsay wiped the small specks of blood from his mouth and regained his composure.

"Well…It's a good thing that I got this intruder sorted out be-!" He was about to deliver a speech about how this stranger was going to make their night more interesting. He hadn't realized how interesting however. Ramsay had now turned over the body and could see fully who it was. It was indeed the proud Robb Stark. Ramsay didn't panic easily but the fact that he had been alone with Theon was causing a slight sweat upon his brow.

"Reek. How much did he tell you?" He said as he brought up the wrench and held it in his hand yet again. Theon was too shaken to reply the first time but when Ramsay kicked him in the stomach he was able to utter a few words out.

"Master…please…" He knew that he would somehow blame him for bringing him here. This was his fault. Everything was his fault. He let people down.

"HOW MUCH DID HE SAY REEK?" Ramsay lifted him up by the shirt and yelled this specifically into his ear. He flinched at the sudden movement but Ramsay seemed to grab his skin harder for this.

Theon waited for the impending hit he would receive and no less than five seconds later Ramsay smacked him across the face making his Reek answer him. Ramsay was worried that he had said things that gave him hope of escaping. All of his work would have been partially undone and he would have to do it all over again. That would bore him and he despised being bored.

Theon knew what happened when he got bored.

Theon had to try and find the words and quickly. "He said…He was here to take me away from you."

The Bolton didn't know how Robb had been able to figure out where he was but if he needed rid of the Stark and quickly. He would ruin a years worth of work. Ramsay held Theon's chin in his hand. Ramsay became ever so dangerous but this was the first time that Ramsay seemed genuinely concerned about losing him. The relationship had grown and they had become co dependant on each other. Theon needed Ramsay for survival while Ramsay needed his Reek.

"Oh Reek. You're never leaving me again."

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The blow to the head had majorly disorientated him. He could feel the blood on the back of his head and the blood slowly dripping onto his neck. He was bound to a chair by what seemed to be iron chains. The same chains that Theon had been forced to wear when he had first arrived. They had blood on them which hadn't been cleaned in a while he could tell.

He would have fallen back asleep had it not been for a sudden loud trumpet noise. His eyes shot open and there was Ramsay sitting down on a chair with Theon sitting on the floor beside him like a slave. Theon was once more avoiding eye contact while Ramsay was playing with his small golden torture device. Ramsay was the first to speak but then Robb doubted Theon would be allowed to speak about anything.

"Reek. Apologise to me. Then to him." He said. He loved the look he got when he didn't understand. Theon had an idea why he would have to apologise to Ramsay but he wasn't sure about Robb. He did it nonetheless.

"Master I'm sorry. I talked to him and I shouldn't have. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry." He said repeating that one word prying he would have mercy. Ramsay sighed and brought him up to his lap. He smirked as he saw Robb scathing as Theon was forced to sit upon his lap. He was clearly uncomfortable but showed no protest.

"You were told that anyone who you see you aren't meant to talk to them. You did. I'm disappointed." Ramsay felt a small betrayal that he had talked to him before telling him and even then he wouldn't have come down had he not said the magic words. He would sort him out later. Theon looked down to the side but Ramsay did the repetitive motion of bringing his eyes up to meet his own. This was entirely a show he was putting on for Robb Stark.

This was completely on purpose because Ramsay was a master of psychological torture. He knew it was another way of establishing his dominance over his poor unfortunate experiment."Please master. I'm sorry-sorry. Just a stupid idiot."

"We'll talk about it later in bed. You're going to be screaming the whole night. You have to make up for your incompetence somehow." He looked Robb in the eyes instead of Theon's as he knew the exact reaction he would get from him.

"Yes. Master." He knew not to expect anything different form him. Things like this were pretty much routine now.

Robb could understand why he was saying yes to all of this. Theon was scared stiff of what Ramsay might do to him if he disagreed. He knew that he was acting sexual around him on purpose. He doubted he would assault him in front of him like he did with Catelyn. He could see that he was going to make him do something much worse.

He pointed to Robb who was still bound to the chair and quite obviously in pain. "Now to Robb Stark."

"For what, Mi'lord." Theon asked.

"For wasting his time. You made him fall in love with you. He only stayed with you out of pity." Ramsay said into his ear letting it drip in like a deadly poison.

Theon did it without question. "I'm Sorry Robb. I'm just a worthless whore and i'm sorry you ever knew me."

Robb couldn't listen to this anymore. He needed to change the subject so it was no longer Theon if it was to make him safer in this situation.

"How did you know I was here?" Robb asked curious as to how . He had heard Ramsay in the upstairs so there was no way he could have heard anything from the kennels. This caused Ramsay to laugh as psychotically as he did. Theon knew exactly what Ramsay was going to say next but he didn't want him too. The shame would never leave him. Like all of the other shame he carried like a heavy weight constantly on his chest.

"Reek betrayed you Robb. We have secret little code words for things and the code for an intruder in the house is Domeric. It also applies for police." Ramsay losing his side he was laughing so hard. This was funny because he never actually expected him to betray the Stark family or more specifically him. His conditioning had worked so well. "Look at him Reek. Tell him you don't regret it."

"I-I don't regret b-b-betraying you." He said almost instantly. He looked him in the eyes to keep Ramsay happy but there were tears there and that didn't make Ramsay happy. Ramsay took it as that he still had feelings for him.

Ramsay had tricked Theon several times over the past couple of months to think he was doing horrible things to the Starks despite being confined to the house. Most of these things were of course horrible by design but the worst was the one he had been forced to do 2 months ago. Theon still was not ready to talk about it and he doubted the story would ever leave his busted lips.

"Theon... It's okay." Robb knew he had no choice in the matter. He wondered how many time in the past year Theon had been in a situation where he never had any choice, never had any consent. By the Old Gods and the New he swore when he got out of here he would make Theon the safest person on the planet.

Ramsay grabbed Theon by the chin and licked away the tears. Theon knew better than to resist. Robb was enraged at being forced to watch this. Theon felt disgusting but one thing he didn't understand was why Robb was acting so upset. He heard the recordings and knew how he felt about him.

"Tell him your name." He said as he finished assaulting his face and throwing him to the ground. Theon grunted in pain. He should have been used to being thrown down on the floor by now but it still hurt every time. In the softest voice he could muster he then said what Ramsay had drilled into him for a year now.

"Reek. My name is Reek. Theon died long ago. He tried to escape but he was broken. Piece by piece." Theon had no breaks in his sentence. He was sure of his sentence because it was completely accurate. Ramsay had even said it himself.

This was the sentence that made Robb reach his lowest point. Theon had been tortured to the point of breaking and he had been thoroughly broken. It wasn't just physical. It had been all 3 types of torture. He was no longer thinking straight as his mind was a mix of shock and bloodlust.

"God. I'll kill you. Ramsay you're a dead man!" All of Robb's shock and sorrow had turned into pure anger towards Ramsay. He was dead fifty times over. He would take his time and do what he had done to Theon only worse. He'd remove all of the Bolton's finger and then make him know the true meaning of what happens when you touch a member of the Stark family.

Ramsay laughed. Were all the Starks this fucking stupid? He had the upper hand in this situation. Robb was tied to a chair and bleeding and Ramsay was the one with the weapon in his hand. It was clear who would be getting out of this alive.

"It's you who's going to die tonight but not by my hand." Ramsay said as he pulled out a long serrated knife. Robb didn't look intimidated but Theon looked terrified. Terrified he would have to see yet another flaying only this time it was of a man who he once loved. Who a part of him still did.

There was an awkward silence and when Robb tried to look for answers Theon's eyes were still cast down.

Ramsay put the blade in Theon's hands and made sure he clasped onto the leather handle tight. Theon tried to let go but his master was having none of that sort of behaviour. He grabbed Theon by the neck to make sure that he got the message. Robb could see Ramsay's nails digging into his throat and restricting him of the air he so badly needed.

Theon spluttered for a moment and tightened his grip on the knife. Ramsay did see Theon obeying him of course but he still chocked him because he enjoyed it. He supposed that was why he did anything. He loved the feeling of it. Having complete control.

"Good. Now that we've established that here's the game. Reek I want you to flay Robb. If you don't then I'll be mad with you. I don't want to be angry with you. If Robb doesn't scream I'll let him go. If he does then you have to kill him. I'll let you choose where you flay him, consider it my little anniversary gift."

Robb could see how Ramsay game was going to end. With Theon being further tormented in that he forced him to kill him. It was horrid above anything else. Simply deranged. In a way he could have felt bad for him. Emphasis on the could have. He probably was mentally messed up so that's why Ramsay was doing what he was doing but not now.

Theon was stuck and drowning in his confusion. It was Robb who was causing this. Robb who he heard saying he was glad to be rid of Theon. Then again he had said just there now how everything he had known for the past year was a lie. How he loved him. Ramsay on the other had was all that he knew. All the slow taunting and torture had gotten to him and if he betrayed him he would find a way to make his existence even more painful.

He even doubted it was the real Robb. It could have very well been a trick by Ramsay. His tricks were the worst. One time he let him escape only for the hounds to hunt him down again. Most of the teeth marks had healed. Most.

It was too much for him to handle. His eyes looked down to the knife again. He caught his eyes in the reflection. The shell of who he was. Reek was staring back at him. Reek who had been nothing more than just a beaten dog.

He had been this pathetic life form known as Reek for so long he forgot what he was originally. Who he was. The two parts of him were screaming and he needed to do something. Ramsay could tell he was having trouble so he decided to help him out a bit.

"Reek what are you waiting for? Do it." Ramsay commanded him. This was delicious to him. Having Reek kill his ex lover for him was beautiful. Ramsay chuckled in delight that after Theon's first kill he could officially start helping him with his other victims. He had only been helping with minor things before but this would be the first time that he directly cause anyone's death. And then if Ramsay ever needed to throw him under the bus he could do that as well. The possibilities were endless.

Robb was seriously debating whether or not Theon was going to do it. He could see he was broken but whether he was broken enough to murder him was a different matter. Ramsay had faith in his pet but this was a risky victim. It was a possibility that he could not do it and remain loyal to the dire wolf slut.

What neither of them expected was for Theon to turn the knife onto himself.

Ramsay got him to stop but the way he did it made a mistake. The blade ended up going a lot lower then Theon's stomach. They heard the slicing then the sound of liquid pouring out onto the floor. Robb was horrified while Ramsay was stunned. His pet had actually try and take his own life. Again. The last time he had done it he had to take Theon to a hospital in another part of Essos so that he wouldn't be recognised and when they got home Ramsay gave his a beating he still shuddered to think about this day. The wrench still had him limping to this day.

The knife was stuck in his thigh. Theon was instantly down, writhing not so silently in pain. He called out for his master to make the pain stop and how he was sorry. Ramsay's attention was taken completely off of Robb and was now back onto his pet.

He ignored the fact that Robb was able to use this moment of confusion to unchain himself. He could have always done it as Ramsay had forgotten to secure it but he didn't want to do it when he was focussing on him.

"Reek! I'm going to kill you for this." Ramsay hated cheaters and the one person in the entire world he trusted not to betray him had just cheated in what was meant to be the final game. He was about to plunge the knife down repeatedly onto his chest but he was met with a swift punch to the face. Robb repeated this action and took the greatest pleasure in doing it. He could feel Ramsay's nose breaking underneath his fist and them the smooth red blood that followed.

He would have kept on going until he looked like a bloodied pulp. He still would have done it even after he stopped breathing. The Stark was about to punch him one more time but he saw Theon whimpering on the floor as he threw his head back in pain. Theon wasn't exactly screaming but he was more making chocked sobs while letting out his gasps of pain.

Theon kept on trying to remove the stainless silver blade from his leg but Robb made him keep it in. He could hear the cavalry arriving and he knew Jon would be at the head of it. He could see Theon trying to mumble something but he was top weak to do anything. Theon had given up. Robb however had not.

Robb quietly kept trying to tell him it was okay, how Ramsay was unconscious and the ambulance was on his way. He was trying to stop the blood loss but it was clear that with the state Theon had been in he was fading fast. Robb knew it wasn't life threating in normal circumstances but Theon wasn't exactly a normal circumstance.

He had never been more grateful when he heard the police sirens come to the house. The door was broken down and he could hear the armed police swarming into the house. Jon was waiting outside the kennel door with at least twenty of his own good men. "Ramsay Bolton! We have your house surrounded. Come out with your hands up!"

"He's unconscious. Get in here now!" Robb yelled as he kept applying the pressure to the wound. He wrapped his jacket around it to stop the blood that was still pooled around the knife. He knew that if a person was stabbed you didn't take out the knife because that would cause the blood to flow out faster.

Jon and the men and women he had brought secured the room. Jon was the first to approach Robb and the man who he had in his lap, who he guessed was one of Ramsay's victims. He looked to the back of Robb's head and saw a nasty bloodied wound around it. He was glad that was the least of the damage.

"Robb! Your head is bleeding you need a hospital now!" He said as he signalled for other to come over and help. Sam was the only one there with extensive medical knowledge while the others only had a basic course done. He was about to get bandages on Robb's head but he held up a hand to stop him.

"No! Save the ambulance for him." Robb's eyes were still locked onto Theon. He never wanted to take his eyes away from him again. Jon looked at the body in his lap and thought it was another victim. Then he got a closer look and he was silent. The top commander who had been shouting orders was now quiet at the startling revelation. It looked so different but it was definitely him. All of the emotions that Robb felt less than an hour ago were now going through Jon's head only not the romantic ones, the ones like 'He's alive. He's been through so much shit.'

Sam was also shocked to the bone. He had seen scenes of horror before but this was a part of Jon's family and he had never seen a dead body before but he guessed that this came pretty close to the real thing.

Jon had to take his eyes away. He knew had to find Bolton.

"Where is he? Where's the monster." Jon said prying that Robb hadn't lost control and murdered him with his bare hands. He knew he would. He was like his father but he had the same anger and vengeance that drove Catelyn Stark.

"He's there. He's still alive but not for long." He was about to get up and push past Jon and finally go finish the job but he was kept down with a little too much force. Jon looked to where he pointed and nearly vomited. Robb had really done a number on his face and by that Jon meant he had no idea if he was still living. Ramsay coughing up blood gave him a good indication that he was probably still breathing.

"Robb You can't. It isn't justice." He warned him. He knew that Robb would kill him without a second thought. He would love to stab him but if Robb went to prison he would be done for. A list the size of the North was how many people Robb had but away into prison.

Robb was much like his father in he knew what justice was. Letting Bolton live was not the answer. "Justice! Look at what he's done to Theon." He pointed once more to Theon's face and the new changes that had been made to it including a bruise on the cheek from the slap that Ramsay had given him earlier.

Jon knew the exact feelings that was going through Robb's head at the moment. He understood but he knew that Ned wouldn't want him to being going down this path of violence. He wouldn't have it.

"He'll get the sentence he needs the bastard but Theon needs you now." If anything was going to snap Robb out of his murderous rage it was going to be the mention of Theon needing him now more than ever. Robb sighed and let Jon know his mind game had worked. Robb knew that he was right in that he had to put Theon first.

"Don't die. Please. You've survived him for this long and now you can survive this." Robb told him as he patted his hair and kept on trying to whisper words of reassurance to somehow get him to wake up. He had passed out and he wasn't sure whether it was to do with the stress of it all or just the blood loss. Jon found the scene hard to watch so he then went on to bark orders at the others and check out the rest of the house for anything else that could be lurking around.

The ambulance had thankfully come with the police just in case and Theon had been loaded up and they began to work on him while Robb and Jon rode in the police car behind while Ygritte and Tormund took the now unconscious Ramsay to the prison doctor. Ygritte had also sent a text so that maybe not do a good job and keep him alive but don't fix his face.

He was an ugly fucker on the inside and now everyone would see that on the outside too. They were also lucky that a jury would have no problem convicting him. They had enough evidence to put him away that he wouldn't get out until the next ice age.

Jon could easily see how tense he was the entire ride. He was biting his lip and he had that look on his face. When he was thinking of the worst outcome scenario. Then again it could have just been him seeing the trauma that his fiancé had gone through at the hands of his captor. The scars had imprinted themselves on his mind and he hasn't even seen the worst of it. He knew that he hadn't. He bet that when he saw underneath the shirt it would be a hell of a lot worse then what he saw.

Those had only been the physical markings however. The psychological damage was much, much worse. The way he had looked so terrified of what Ramsay would do to him when he was about to call himself Theon. He had turned him into Reek. Ramsay had broken him and Robb failed to save him and that was the worst feeling. His fiancé had once been a mighty kraken, strong proud and a little bit arrogant and hardware at times but this wasn't him. Now he was like a mouse, scared that saying a word would get him killed. The thought of him living in that constant state of fear for twelve months made him wonder if there was any Theon left.

There game was over but the true test was about to commence.

Bringing Theon Greyjoy back to normality.

Back to sanity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Theon is my favourite so therefore he must suffer the most. But don't worry. That should be the last of his torture in this fic. It's all fluff,love and intensive therapy and recovery from here on in.


	17. The Reconciliation Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robb and Yara wait for Theon to wake up and get an insight as to the extent of his injuries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya. Haven't done this in a while but I would like to thank every single person who has left a kudos or a comment. They mean a lot and really do help out. Don't worry though. Fluff is coming.

4 hours. That was how long it had been since Theon had been admitted and for 3 and a half hours that was how long Robb had spent pacing back and forth, sitting down, standing up and doing anything to pass the time. Jon had been waiting with him and naturally he was just as tense but he didn't let it show. He couldn't let it show. He had to be something for him to lean on because he could see Robb was seconds away from breaking. "This is my fault."

The half Stark sighed. "Robb….You know it's not." True the police had provided sensitivity training but this wasn't a normal situation where they were simply sad. This was the deepest blackest form of despair. Jon could clearly see why though. If it had been Ygritte who had been found he would have stopped at nothing until Ramsay was good and dead.

"I shouldn't have yelled at him. That's the reason he went out in the first place." Since the moment he saw Theon alive and suffering that was one of the resounding voices that had been playing in the back of his head. He thought that he had buried all of this guilt months ago but now it was resurfacing all in one big cloud of confusion. Jon laid a reassuring hand on his back while he sat back down and put his head into his hands. There was some mutter, most of which Jon couldn't understand but there were a few choice words which Jon felt so bad that Robb was thinking about himself.

Ygritte had been keeping Jon updated with the things that had been happening with Ramsay and how he wished he could have five minutes alone with him in the cell. Apparently he had punched Ramsay so hard that his nose was currently broken and his head needed about 10 stiches. Jon showed Robb the pictures of the bloodied sight and while Jon was still slightly repulsed by the sight it seemed to get a small chuckle from Robb which he supposed was the main thing in this situation.

Once he had seen the gruesome picture though he went back to the more silent and nervous state he had been in before. Jon didn't know what to do to calm him down. Thankfully he didn't have to. A loud voice with an iron born accent did that job for him. They didn't even need to see her to know who it was. They could tell she was yelling loudly because the room they were waiting outside of was a good 6 rooms down from the reception area. They both decided to run as they knew it would probably be another while before they could get any conclusive news on Theon's current state.

"Where is he? WHERE IS MY BROTHER?" Yara yelled from the front desk of the hospital. The receptionist looked terrified and was clearly having trouble controlling her. Jon held her back while Robb profusely started to apologise for their friend's behaviour and took her away.

"Yara calm the hell down." Jon tried to say as nicely as he could. This was attracting attention to all of them and Jon felt like people staring at Yara would only make the situation worse. Yara turned to him with a blood lust look in her eyes and he backed off.

She scoffed in his face and with a click of her tongue she was about to give him a verbal lashing. "Oh I'm sorry Snow, I get a call from you saying my brother is alive and well and at the hospital and you expect me to be calm? Ygritte was right. You don't know shit!" She said pushing him back away from her. He nearly fell over due to how strong she was. He tried to cough but even then it sounded anxious. Robb was sort of glad that it was Jon dealing with it but he could guess it would be his turn next.

Yara walked around for a second to try and get her cool back but it resulted in her almost punching a wall. Thankfully Jon redirected the punch so it went into the air instead. A doctor was glaring at them to keep them in line but Yara's response simply by looking at him made him go about his own work.

She was able to put her unbridled rage aside for one second to actual ask important questions.

"What's the damage? Psychologically. I know he's a mess physically that's bloody obvious but how was he when you found him? He's always been…fragile." She said quietly as if he was there in the hallway with them. She never liked saying this stuff to his face.

As much as she hated to admit it Theon was the runt of the litter. Out of the four of the Greyjoy children Theon had been the weakest. Balon's punching and kicking him didn't help that at all and going to live with the Starks only made it worse. Yara remembered his exact words when he had been forced to attended several councillors at school. He had said that 'I'm a Greyjoy, I'm meant to be strong. Not weak.' Yara knew that anyone who had to say they were strong were not in fact strong. She thought she had been toughing him up but in reality she may have been doing more harm than good all the times she told him to kill himself or stop being such a little bitch.

Robb took a moment to even begin thinking of a response. There were so many words to describe it yet none of them wanted to leave his mouth.

Jon, who had been texting furiously at his phone slammed it into his pocket and interrupted Robb to save him having to say anything now and have more time on planning what to tell her.

"I have to go. Roose is at the station now. I have to go help Ygritte." He said while he was halfway through putting his coat on. He took a moment out of his discontented mind-set to feel anger towards Ramsay's father for having to nerve to try and defend his son.

"Go. We're staying here." Robb said nodding. He knew if Roose was there he would be attempting to get his son out and they did not need that right now. The sooner they put Roose under lock and key the better. Robb had also made sure they had guards at the hospital doors to make sure none of the Bolton men tried to off Theon before he could talk.

When Jon was gone he proceeded to tell Yara the extent of the psychological damage. How horrific it had been to see him a shaking mess and calling Ramsay his master and himself something as low as Reek. "He broke him. Made him call himself Reek."

Yara's face then began to puzzle something and then she let out the loudest gasp that he had ever heard come from her thoroughly chewed lips. She looked like she was going to physically be sick. She was now perfectly balanced between going into shock and going on another violent shouting spree.

"Wait…Did you say Ramsay called him Reek?" She said with a slight pause between the words.

"Yara…." Robb could see how dangerous she was getting. Iron borns often did when one of their own was threatened. If she wasn't angry before she certainly was now. She knew something he didn't.

"That son of a bitch." She punched a wall and made a remarkable sized hole in it. Thankfully no nurses were around to see it so hopefully they wouldn't be fined for repairs of it. Robb closed his eyes and made a mental remainder to pay for the damages.

Robb gave her a look as to ask 'What the hell is going on?' and 'What do you know?'

"A couple of months ago I had a man come in asking for the lover's boat for an evening out. When you get it out you have to sign two name. He signed his as Domeric Snow while he signed the other as Alfie "Reek" Snow. He said it was cute nickname he had for him."

She would have never guessed that their date night with their significant others would have ended up like this. Daenerys was waiting at home with her three pats. Yara had told her to wait at their apartment until she knew what was going down. Yara made a note to call and get her to bring clothes. She was staying here as long as they would allow her to. She would be here when he woke up.

"That bastard was there and he was torturing my baby brother all while I was no less than mile away. I could have checked up and I would have found him but I didn't. I know I should have filed a report when the bed sheets went missing." It was true. She found it odd how the morning after when she was cleaning it that out of all the things that they could have stolen they decided upon the bedsheets of all things. She decided it wasn't much of a big deal anyway and it was a problem that could be easily fixed.

"Yara you couldn't have known. Ramsay found ways to torture Theon and that was probably one of them. Bringing him so close to his family but knowing he had broken him enough that he couldn't run for help.

"Yara it's okay." He had said this to himself so many times he was actually convinced it would work on her.

Yara sank down into the chair and started at the fluorescent lit ceiling. She was still trying to process all of this. It was only the beginning of a hell of a night and she should have been happy that he was alive but the amount of worry overpowered any happy feeling she might have had. "I'm so sorry Robb. I've been ignoring you all these months because I thought that Theon was dead because of you. I'm sorry."

Robb sighed. He supposed it was good to hear that she was giving him an apology. He knew that she didn't have to do it at all because her behaviour was understandable for someone in her position. "I accept your apology Yara. You are his sister, if anything it was harder on you then it was on me."

"Don't lie Robb. You were the worst out of all of us. We really shouldn't compare our pain. Theon was the worst to suffer." She said trying to being in making up to Robb for how horrible she had been to him. Deep in her cold, iron forged heart she knew that there was always going to be tension between them no matter how much she tried to make it better but she might as well try. Try for Theon.

There was an awkwardness, it was thick in the air. They couldn't cut it by themselves so a convenient doctor did it for them.

"The Greyjoy party?" a doctor asked suddenly coming out of the room where they had been working on the youngest Greyjoy sibling. Yara was up like a shot while both their concerned eyes were locked onto her. They were clawing for any news on his condition.

"How is he?" Yara asked first. She wasn't going to waste any time and she wanted to cut though any bullshit to get straight to the point. She had been waiting 365 days and she wasn't going to wait a second more.

"We were able to stich him up in the first hour. The rest was trying to assess his other injuries." The nurse could sense how tense she was and she too wasted no time cutting to the chase. Yara was relieved but Robb had been in this situation too many times to know there was always bad news somewhere along the line.

The doctor cleared her throat. "I'm going to be blunt. This is the worst case of torture we've had in a long time. It's a miracle he hasn't died yet. We've been able to stop the bleeding around his leg. He'll live." She said it as though Theon surviving had been a curse rather than a blessing.

Robb knew that Theon would make it but he still got an overwhelming sense of relief that he was okay now. He had physical confirmation that his heart was still going strong and he was going to make it. Now his mind scape was another thing.

"The extent of his injuries?" Yara asked while biting her bottom lip. From the way Robb had been pacing she knew that it had been bad. She knew to expect this much but the extent was what had scared her.

He had always been fragile. He kept it hidden behind his wall of being an asshole of course but his vulnerability was there. He was only a human. Did he fuck up? Yes. Did he mean to? No. He would regret all the things that he did and it honestly sucked to him when he did but he felt like he had to make people proud all the time. Between the Starks and his biological family it was amazing how he hadn't lost his mind.

"From what we can tell so far there's several broken ribs, a cracked hip bone, 3 fingers have been severed off as well as 3 toes, malnutrition and muscle wasting, infected cuts from lord knows how long ago, burn marks from an unsterilized branding iron, dislocated shoulder, whip marks, his legs have been broken but haven't been properly healed, several teeth had either been cracked or removed with pliers and extensive sexual abuse related injuries. There are more specific items but it goes on." The doctor said. Robb had heard of abuse but that was probably the most he had heard of being done to one single person.

"Are you his husband?" She asked trying to avoid all eye contact like she didn't want to tell them what they had found when they had cut of the rags they considered trousers.

"Fiancé." Robb said not expecting what was coming next. He just assumed it was a simple and common question. Robb had never taken off his ring, the only exception being for washing dishes and when he needed to for work.

"There was also…mutilation of the genitals. A crudely done castration process. There's nothing left down there." She said. The doctors had been shocked when they had first seen it and one of them even had thrown up at the sight of it. It was not pretty. There would defiantly be a need for surgery for it but there were other priorities for him to be worked on, like his hands and his feet. If those went untreated for any longer it could lead to irreversible damage. Physical irreversible damage that is.

Robb didn't think it possible to get any more horrified by the things that Ramsay had done but he just kept on getting worse and worse surprises. The worst part was that Theon was never all that confident but his lively hood in his sexual nature gave him a little bit of confidence.

Yara of course was horrified but Robb's face pretty much said it all for her. Yara also told him to be less cocky but never in a million years did she think it would be taken literally.

"Is he going to be okay?" It was a redundant question. Of course he wasn't going to be fucking okay. He'd been tortured in every way possible but Robb still wanted to know. He thought that maybe if he heard it from the doctor's lips then maybe it would be better for him.

"We think so. We've managed to stop all internal bleeding and now he's resting up. You may go in and see him. He's on a lot of sleep medication so he won't talk until he wakes up."

Yara was the first one to push past her and barge her way into the hospital room but she was almost back out in a second flat. Her brother looked like something out of a science fiction film. There were machines hooked up to ever part of him. She knew they were keeping him alive but all she wanted to do was rip them out and just hug him, praying that her will for him to live would bring him back.

"Baby Brother…" She went to investigate further and saw what the doctor had been talking about. It wasn't her brother. His hair was far too light to be his. Theon had been a lanky child but at no point could you ever see his cheek bones. Then there was the hair. Theon had always had light brown hair so to see it nearly as white as winter was a drastic change. Over the year she never forgot his face. Not once.

She wanted to reach out and touch his skin but she was frightened. She didn't get scared easily but this was chilling her to the bones. She thought that before she had failed as a sister but this had cemented it for her. She should have known that he wasn't dead and kept on looking.

Robb came in and didn't have the exact same reaction. Of course he was still just as horrified but he had seen him when he was conscious so seeing him asleep gave him some peace. This was equal hard for him as it was for her. He had been through so much that Robb's mind was beginning to think about how he would react to actually being free. Or if he would be too frightened to do anything.

"I'm worried about psychologically. Ramsay had tortured him so badly he didn't even know his own name. As I said he kept insisting he was Reek." Robb said as he moved some of the hair out of Theon's face so they could see him better. He had bruises along his cheek and forehead. Both fresh and ones from a long time ago.

"What about his hair? Is it bleached?" Yara asked the nurse who had been still standing in the hospital doorway this entire time. Yara just needed to focus on something that wasn't his face.

"Malnutrition and stress often can turn people's hair white." She said reading the charts. They had run a couple of tests to see if it was true but they found no traces of hydrogen peroxide or any ammonia in the hair sample that they had gotten.

Yara remained close to him. She felt like she would never leave him again. He had changed so much over the years but this had been the most drastic. It almost reminded her of that time when Theon thought that he was super edgy and wore lots of black for a week. Catelyn made sure it didn't last any longer.

"We did an estimation. Approximately 89% of the scars can be healed within the next couple of months." The doctor said to be the barer of even more bad news.

"89%. That means 11% won't." Robb said doing a quick sum in his head. He also had heard from Jon's friend Sam that most scars were able to be healed after time.

The doctor put down the clipboard of Theon's medical charts and gave Robb the look. "He's been in Mr Bolton's "care" for a year. He must have been an expert in torture because this is up there with the worst cases we've had to deal with."

Once again a deafining silence filled the room and the doctor made sure everything was okay before leaving the two of them alone with Theon.

When it was only the three of them in the room Yara let her eyes fill with tears. "Ramsay is dead man. I don't care if I go to prison he's dead for doing this to Theon. No one hurts him and gets away with it." It was an angry crying. She didn't care who she had to hurt, she would get her best men and go find this Bolton and let his lungs fill with water and drown him in the deepest coldest parts of the sea.

Call it the most violent path but Yara did not care how many dirty cracks it had for she would walk it twenty times over if it meant avenging her brother and what he had been though.

"Yara. You cannot see Theon if you're in a prison cell. The court has more than enough evidence to convict. If he doesn't get life he'll get the death penalty I promise you." Robb said with the upmost certainty that he was going to face the fitting punishment for his crimes. Yara had spent so long being bitter towards him that she knew she had to trust his word now.

She gave a nod of understanding and they both once again turned their heads to Theon. It felt like they had been in the room for such a short period of time when in reality it had only been a couple of hours. There was the occasional conversation and catch up about how she had been doing the past year and how she and Daenerys were going to go on a trip to Dragonstone.

Robb was right at the bedside when he could see him beginning to stir. He made pained noises and then tried to toss and turn. He was responsive and Yara was now happy crying. Her baby brother was finally awake and she could tell him how happy she was he was alive, then call him an idiot for getting captured but in a gentle friendly way so he wouldn't think she was mad at him.

"R…R…?" Theon's eyelids began to flutter open.

"Theon it's me. Me and your sister Yara." Robb said as he let strong tears roll down his cheeks and he held his hand. Yara wasn't crying but she was rather holding her breath. Neither of them expected what his first words would be.

"Ra…Ram..say…."


	18. The Delusion Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robb knows that Theon is free from Ramsay but can he convince the poor broken man of that?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my avid readers. I know this had been long overdue but finally it is time for the long awaited Robb and Theon reunion. Fluff and recovery are full steam ahead (partial angst). Enjoy.

Another two hours of waiting and Robb Stark was reaching near insanity. Robb had counted a grand total of 58 slightly off coloured tiles on the ceiling. 23 different nurses and doctors passing through the bust halls in the white uniforms and finally about 3 family members going into the room next to Theon. He was ready to go in but unlucky for him the doctor decided that it would be better if the psychiatrist went into him first to check out the extent of the damage.

Shortly after Theon had spoken Ramsay's name he was unconscious again. Throughout the 2 hours he had been in and out of consciousness but now was the time he was awake fully. Theon would have been terrified had it not been for the drugs they had pumped into his system. His pain had been numbed but the emotional scarring still remained. Even while he was sleeping he still was fidgeting slightly almost like an animal would when it had a horrific nightmare.

Robb had wanted more than anything to go back in and be there with him but the psychiatrist had wanted to do his evaluation and get it over with so he could determine what was the best course of action for him. Obviously therapy was going to be needed but how intense it would be and how long he would need to do it for.

Robb was of course allowed to watch but only through the window. He couldn't hear anything but he could read lips pretty well. He could see the therapist in with him now. Robb being a detective also noted the small name tag that read Dr Raven. Robb had heard from various gossip around the coffee machine that he was good for getting into people heads and seeing how they thought about things and worked.

Funnily enough Bran, who had been to the hospital several times before due to his legs, had talked to the elderly psychiatrist and was actually taking him for an apprenticeship underneath him. Catelyn wasn't aware of this however. There was no way in the seven hells she would allow her son to be trained in a faraway location by an elderly person about how to get into people's minds. That was just a ludicrous concept.

"Do you know where you are?" He asked him first. Theon first the first time in eleven months was lying on his back. The pain killers were strong enough to numb all the pain that he had become accustom to.

"I know where. Hospital." Theon said back in a sharp short sentence. He wasn't exactly in the mood for talking to a total stranger. So much had been going on in the past couple of hours that he wasn't sure if it was reality or a dream. For now he couldn't decide and just decided to call it a blur until he was sure.

"How do you feel?" He asked eagerly. He would have guessed that he either refused to speak or he would tell him how awful everything was. However his actually response fascinated him.

"This is all a trick." Theon had no hesitation telling the doctor what he truly thought. Ramsay was still controlling him but it was all in the broken man's mind. Theon was choosing his words very carefully as he assumed it was someone Ramsay had paid to try and test him. One of the attributes Ramsay liked about his Reek was when sometimes he was clever enough to know what he was doing but going along with it anyway. Only sometimes though, the rest of the times he liked to keep him guessing.

The white haired man scribbled his response down along with the body language. "Why do you think that?" He asked next. Those tortured eyes just stared back in response. It was a tricky question for Theon because he had never been allowed to say what he thought about things. If he did he would be likely to get either the whip or the electricity treatment. Theon preferred the electricity as the pain would leave after an hour or two. He still had whip marks from at least 5 months ago.

He remembered what he had done to deserve it. It had only been a question. Ramsay had meant it to be rhetorical but Theon had made the idiotic move of actually answering it and after he didn't speak for at least a week unless Ramsay wanted to.

"It's how master works. He likes playing games. This is just another game. I'm playing. He's the best at games." He said as he eyes darted all around the room just to make sure that if Ramsay was there he would be listening in. He couldn't risk him finding about any disloyalty between them.

The psychiatrist was having an absolute field day with Theon. It naturally sickened him to see a person so broken but his mindscape was fascinating. The way in which he was broken was truly barbaric but it could provide an entire study of its own. A yearlong of intense, pure concentrated torture and then freedom. He would be a wonderful person to work with. The doctor then thought that perhaps he should let his young apprentice have a look at his notes later.

"What is your relationship with him?" He knew it was risky to ask more question but the knowledge he would gain would be worth the risk. No matter how badly he wanted answers above all else he knew that he had to put the patient first.

Theon knew exactly what his relationship with him was. Toxic. Poisonous. Filthy. But in a way he had grown used to it. Will he did suffer Ramsay let no one else hurt him unless he permitted it. He never had to worry about anything else apart from pleasing him. In the beginning he hated it but once he had become Reek it became easier for him.

"I'm his Reek. Reek, Reek rhymes with freak." He out loud once for the doctor to hear and then over and over quietly to himself. The doctor scribbled down some notes on his note pad and then continued his line of questioning.

"Okay. What about Theon? Where is he?" He asked probing him more, even a little more then he should have. This got a little bit more of a response from his as he seemed to be terrified of the question itself.

"He's dead. Broken. He can't come back." He had been mostly still but now it seemed like his body was moving along with his shaking head. He spat the words out as quickly as he could. He didn't like thinking about his past self. Every cracking whip and the pressure of the blade moving into his skin and peeling away at his skin like he was an apple.

Ramsay precise words for Theon were "What is dead may never live again." This was in reference to his old personality of Theon. This was a short time after he had allowed himself to become the beaten dog of Reek.

The doctor found it interesting how he said can't instead of won't. It was these little details which made for more thorough analysis.

"I'm sure your friends and family can bring him back. Robb really wants to see him again." He said in an attempt to coax any Theon that might have been left. Then again he doubted that he could get him to do it with a total stranger but then again perhaps what he needed was a person who Theon knew well from the past.

There was a laugh and then a pause. The laugh was more out of sadness then humour as it was devoid of hope. "Robb Stark hates me." For the first time since being interviewed he showed an actual emotion aside from fear. The best way to describe it was melancholy. Like he was saying it as if it was true. Theon had to close his eyes just to try not to think of Robb looking at him. Even though back in the kennels Robb had said all those warm and loving words it became sort of a blur and Theon began to associate it with Ramsay and his lies.

Ramsay was like a demon who was by his side and still controlling the very words that kept on leaving his mouth. Theon would find himself still glancing to the corners of the room for fear of Ramsay hiding there, waiting for him to slip up. His shadow was black and Theon was in darkness. He had been since waking up and since he had woken up upon the X.

Robb was able to hear this through the glass window and had to step back in shock a little he was that physically stunned. It was a fact that Ramsay had convinced him of this but it was still a hell of a punch to take actually hearing it.

"One last question as I can see this is very stressful for you and I wouldn't like to press you any further. How do you feel about people in general?"

Theon was expecting something a little simpler he could answer. The only contact he had with other people was when Ramsay had his friends come over for drinking or going on a hunt with the newest girl. Then again he supposed they didn't count as people as they had passed the point of qualifying as humans since they didn't seem to have a soul. Then again Theon didn't think he had a soul either. It had been broken and his new "Reek" soul had been tainted by the things he had done. The things Ramsay had forced him to do.

Theon's tongue was held by an invisible hand while another hand seemed to be chocking him as so he wouldn't have to answer the question. The doctor could see the question had an interesting effect on him. He had already noted how he was struggling with this so he knew that he had gone as far as he could with his questioning.

When he decided that he had finished he got up and left Theon alone while he seemed to catch his breath again. Normally with patients they wouldn't be so tense afterword's and would actually feel better but Theon, as expected, was a perfect example of pure trauma. When the doctor wasn't looking Theon covered his eyes in anticipation of Ramsay coming out and saying how he did so well and he would treat his pet.

The stern faced psychiatric doctor was greeted by Robb's clearly tensed eyebrows and forehead. He had been here for a long time and if he didn't get to see him soon he would lose it. Before Robb could ask him anything the doctor instantly interrupted him.

"Robb, I want you to go in and try to talk to him." He said rather out of the blue. Robb gazed at him confused then back to Theon who was currently still scared but less so then when the doctor was talking to him. The therapist's logic was simple. He had been a complete stranger and therefore a threat so it would be better if it was someone he once knew who asked him to answer questions.

Brienne who had been waiting with him and had been waiting for updates from Podrick on how things at the Bolton house were going. She had been listening to what Podrick had marked as _"Very important audio files. Pls listen Brienne. Also I'll bring kidney pie 4 u at the hospital."_

While Robb and the doctor were talking more about what to do she finished listening to the files and knew this was probably one of the least horrifying things to happen this evening. She was debating showing it to him later but after hearing what Theon said she felt obligated to give Robb a reason for him saying that.

"Robb." She tapped him gently on the shoulder. "Podrick found this in his house."

She handed him the phone and pointed for him to click on the recorder app. To his surprise there was an entire file with his name on it. There were other ones for Yara and some of his other friends but Robb's had the biggest byte size out of all of them. He didn't know what was lurking there. He wasn't scared however because he knew nothing could be worse then what had already been said.

She played all the recordings that Ramsay had kept on his phone. As the recordings went on the more confused and discontented he got.

On the phone there were several recording of him saying totally ridiculous things that he never would have said on his own. There were things about how he was glad Theon was dead and somethings about he didn't want to think about him. There was an odd silence for the next 4 to 5 minutes as he listened to all that was said. Brienne actually found it amazing how he didn't smash the phone against the wall.

"I never said any of those things. That's my voice. He couldn't have edited it, it flowed too well." He was right. It had been him saying those things and yet he had no idea how Ramsay had been able to do it. If he thought about it he could understand but he tended to choose emotions over logic so in this moment he wasn't really thinking.

Brienne thankfully had a clear head and knew exactly what Ramsay had done. "Robb I remember. It was the time we got the key chain. He was there. You said "I don't care about the wedding anymore. I don't want to think about him and that torture he's going through."

Robb let it finally dawn on him what the Bolton had done. He had deliberately caused situations where his family and friends would say terrible things that sounded bad out of context. It was a dirty trick but probably very effective in obliterating any hope Theon may have had in the beginning.

"That sick bastard. No wonder Theon thought I hated him. The psychological damage he's done…" Robb didn't even want to think any more about the torture. Seeing the physical damage was one thing but seeing how his mind was slowly broken too was worse. Theon's mind and personality was a major part of what had Robb fall in love with him and now he was worried that he would have to help him rebuild him. Of course he wouldn't be the same. There was no way he could be after this but he would help get back to normal as much as possible.

It was after this he knew he had to do what the therapist had said and go in there and try to talk to him. He had no idea if what he was doing would be good or bad but he needed to see him for his own sanity.

His hand hovered over the door handle for a moment and they both encouraged him to go in. Lightly he pushed it open and unintentionally scared Theon with the simple click of the door. Theon could only see the dark jacket and the muscular build so he made the assumption that it was Ramsay finally admitting that the test was over and they could go home.

"Theon. I-" Robb was trying to seem as gentle as he could and while he was doing this it wouldn't help given her current state of mind. When Theon heard the voice he knew it wasn't Ramsay's and in a desperate attempt to escape he hid his face from sight.

There may have been a time when he would have been overjoyed to see Robb coming into the room but Ramsay's grip was far too tight on Theon to let him come near. He couldn't let him come near because of what had happened only hours ago.

"Reek." He said muffled through his fingers. Robb looked down sympathetically at him. How he wanted to take him away from all of this.

"I'm not calling you that. You deserve much better." Never had he been told he deserved something good. Robb took the seat that the doctor had been sitting in and moved it closer to Theon so he was close enough to see him in an attempt to make a connection and bring him back to him.

Theon slowly and rather hesitantly moved his hands down so he could face Robb Stark properly. Robb wasn't one to get emotional easily but the small look he got from Theon was enough to send him into river like tears flowing. He didn't want to look up at him because many emotions would torture him much like Ramsay did.

He had failed to save him. The reason he was hurting so much was partially because of him. Mostly it was Ramsay but if he had done so many things differently then perhaps the outcome wouldn't have been half as bad.

"Ramsay will hurt you."

"Ramsay is in jail. His father will be too. No one is going to hurt you ever again."

Theon looked so confused for a moment. Everything just stopped for him. For the first time in a year someone had told him he was going to be safe. A lie. It had to be a lie in Theon's eyes. Then only truth he was used to was the painful truth.

He began to panic. Ramsay had made it so any kindness he was shown was a threat. Kindness only meant getting hurt after. The main way Ramsay used kindness to hurt him was whenever he made Theon think he was going to be relatively okay when in reality it always got so much worse.

"It's a trap. This is all one big trap or trick or game or whatever Ramsay is planning." As much as he wanted to deny it for fear of Ramsay finding out he still cared for Robb. He still loved his curly red-ish hair he got from his mother and the way he always had that half beard half moustache. He wanted to express it but Ramsay had been so brutal that even thinking about showing love to anyone else made him want to gag on his words. It was all part of the Bolton conditioning programme.

It still amazed him how much Ramsay had done to convince him that the outside world was always against him. "It's not Theon."

He knew he didn't have any evidence to support this but he shouldn't need to have any. If he could have remembered how to he would have rolled his eyes at Robb's statement. Theon knew that Robb was a naïve puppy. He always had been and right now he was underestimating Ramsay extremely. The lengths he would go to were beyond anything any psychopath would do. He shook his head in despair and looked down once more.

Robb gently lifted his head up by the chin and brought his eyes to his own, careful not to yell he told him exactly what was happening. "Look at me. I promise you this is not a trap by Ramsay Bolton. If there is any Theon left which I know there is, please trust me."

Theon was as lost as a child. Trust was something he had lost with everyone.

One of the cruellest tricks that had been played was when Ramsay dressed up one of his friends as a police officer and had him come to him in secret and pretend he was going to save him. He lead him back right to the house and all of Ramsay's friends were waiting there for him. He remembered the feeling of despair as he once again saw the X. It was the day he learnt to not trust anyone except strangely enough Ramsay. Ramsay hadn't known about the plot but stopped it immediately when he realized what they were going to play with his toy without him.

Ramsay was the one who made Reek and controlled who got to play with him and when. He really was a big spoilt child who never learned how to share properly.

And that left him being his property. He own him in mind, spirit and body in every way, shape and form.

Theon had to think about it. It was Robb but he knew if he gave in it would end badly. Anything he got near would turn to dust. Robb who was the purest thing on earth in his eyes and then there was him. A dirty criminal scumbag. He didn't deserve such an angel. Even now he was trying to do what he always did and make him feel better about this. Nothing could save him now but he appreciated the effort.

There was no point in fighting it. Robb was a Stark. It meant he was persistent in whatever he did and right now it seemed like his mission was rescuing him. He could try but Theon knew he was a lost cause.

"I don't know if I can trust anyone but I want to try. I trust you Robb even if I don't trust myself."

Robb gave a small triumphant sigh. It was half hearted of course. It wasn't the response he had hoped to get but given the situation it was better than nothing. "I'll take it."

They were there for a few moment and a silence filled the room, Ramsay still on Theon's mind all the time.

"What do you want me to call you?" Robb asked returning to the earlier part of the conversation about him being called Reek. No way in the seven hells was he using that word in front of Theon let alone calling him it to his face.

"What do you want to call me?" The idea that Theon got to choose was a ridiculous idea.

"It's your choice." Robb said hoping to give him something to be happy about. In reality it did the exact opposite as it only worried him even more. "I don't get a choice." Theon told him firmly.

The only time he ever got choices was when Ramsay rewarded him or punished him. Even then those choices were horrible. They ranged from 'What way do you want to help me skin this person?' to 'Which finger do you need the least?'

"I was always Reek to master. The others would call me dog or rat or whatever they liked. Bitch was popular too. Slut if Ramsay or his boys were fucking me." Theon said it as though those words meant nothing and to Theon they didn't. It was simply what had become normal to him.

"Stop." Robb hadn't meant for the words to come out so harshly but it was just the way it happened. He couldn't stand the thought of Theon being called such derogatory things and being forced to submit to the lowlifes know as Ramsay's bastards. They still hadn't rounded all of them up yet but when they did he would be first in line to interrogate them and give them a couple of bruises.

Theon's eyes changed and he begun to shake again. He had only been surviving in these deep water but at the slightest raised voice he began to drown. He shook his head and tried to move away from Robb. In Theon's perspective unhappiness always equalled violence. When he had been broken and rebuilt as Reek it meant that Ramsay became a little less violent. Then again that wasn't saying much considering.

Robb looked over as he heard the heart monitor beep increase and when his eyes looked back to Theon he was begin to get into a scared, lost panic. He clearly wasn't in control. What he didn't realize was that instead of seeing himself Theon was staring into Ramsay Bolton's deep cavern blue eyes.

"I'm sorry. I never meant to make you unhappy. Oh god please I'm sorry." He accidently back so far off the bed he fell off and onto his back. When the floor collided with his healed scars it caused him to hiss out in pain. Robb's hand swooped down to help him back up but he was naturally hesitant to grab it.

"Theon… You're fine. You're okay. It's alright." Robb wished that telling him this over and over would calm him down but he knew it would take more than a couple of words to fix the damage done. Theon's mental state was on thin ice and right now Robb was trying his best to be a winter storm that would keep it strong.

"Reek, Reek rhymes with….rhymes with…." He tried to finish it but all he could do was let out an anguished cry and break down. With Robb's calming words reaching his ear it finally dawned on him.

The reality of him being free finally hit him and he was having trouble coping with it. He had been at the mercy of Ramsay for so long he didn't want all of this to be real. It was too good. Theon didn't deserve happiness and neither did Reek. A lesson Ramsay taught him for a consecutive 365 days.

If he was being honest he didn't know what he wanted. He of course wanted freedom but Ramsay was all he had known and he had conditioned him to be the only person he could rely on. There was no him without Ramsay.

Theon was able to clear his parched throat long enough to get what he wanted to say out.

"I had to be Reek for so long I forgot…" Theon was staring at nothing in particular when he said this. Not the surrounding medical equipment, nor the comforting look that was dormant in Robb's eyes. He didn't want to think of anything because he'd rather not remember all the times he was forced to do what master commanded Reek to do.

In a way he was still under Ramsay's control so therefore he was still Reek.

Because of a recent permanently scaring event Ramsay had put Theon through he had been reminded of his past self and the Starks. He had only regained a small part of his identity but it had only been a slither. For Theon that event may have only lasted 3 days but it wouldn't leave Theon for a life time. He still couldn't talk about what happened.

He would say if he was up to it he could talk about everything else but not what Ramsay made him do no less than two months ago. He couldn't forgive himself. He wondered how Robb could even say he deserved to be safe. He had not eaten his food for two days but it still hadn't been enough to prevent what happened.

It was good for Theon that Robb showed up when he did or that tiny piece of Theon that returned on those fateful days might have been lost forever. It was true that if Theon was able to reach into the deepest and most locked away part of his soul he could probably bring Theon back but it would take a long time. He still remembered the day that he became Reek for Ramsay. All hope had been abandoned by him like the drowned god abandoned hope on the Greyjoy. "Shhhhhh, it's okay. It's okay." Robb gently wiped away some of the wetness from his face and himself too let a couple of tears slip down.

"Robb. I'm sorry." Theon said through his crying. It seemed no matter how many times he cried there would always be more tears. Robb didn't know what to do other than just repeat how it was all fine and he was safe from that monster.

"Don't apologize. You did nothing wrong."

Theon could have laughed at Robb's statement had not all of his humour dried up and be beaten out of him. He had done everything wrong. He knew it himself that he was stupid, stupid, stupid. In the beginning he had tried to reason with himself that it was Ramsay's fault. In the end it was all him. He had wanted that place in the town and he had fought Robb over it. He had been a disappointment all of his life. This was his price to pay.

"I did-I did-I did…." It was like the two halves of him were arguing. One half trying to tell him but the other half knew it was so horrible that they should remain silent and bury it deep down so not even he could find it. Robb just wanted him to be quiet so badly. Not out of malic or because he was annoying him, rather because he refused to believe that Theon had done anything wrong. He made eye contact with Theon and slowly moved his hand towards Theon's bare boned hand. When he was sure that Theon was okay with it he gently grasped it. Theon was scared even by the gentlest of touches.

"Whatever happened with Ramsay, it doesn't matter now. He's going away and you are alive. That's all that matters." Robb said it because it was true. Theon was still tearing up from before but this was the statement that made him so overwhelmed with anguish he could do nothing but let out his frustrations in a loud cry.

Theon had jerked his hand away from Robb's and was now hunched over and curled up on the ground. His jerks and shakes could have caused and earthquake they looked that violent. Robb just wanted to rub his back and hug him and do anything else that would reassure him the future was indeed going to be better and that this was just a bad year.

He wished he could. Theon was clearly going to need time before he would be ready for any physical contact. Robb was willing and more than ready to do it. Robb would get him there.

Why?

Because Robb Stark Loves Theon Greyjoy. And deep, deep down Theon Greyjoy loved Robb Stark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any guesses as to what Ramsay made Theon do three months ago? Hint, it has something to do with a previous chapter and that time span is specific for a reason. Much like Ramsay I enjoy little games.


	19. The Recovery Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theon gets 2 visitors but they don't end up going to plan. One ends with a panic attack while another ends in a truth being revealed.

The doctors had initially been stunned. After going through so much it should have been a long time before the Greyjoy had even begun to heal but to most of their surprises he had been make above average progress. Robb wasn't sure how either but he was glad. Physically he was getting better at least. Mentally was another story. A much longer story.

Yara had a theory that the iron born having been descendants from sailors and pirates had a pretty high immunity to diseases and could heal quickly but it took the doctor several minutes to explain that it wasn't how diseases actually worked. She understood but that didn't mean she had to like it. There were so many ways in which she wished that the world worked.

Speaking of the Greyjoy sibling she was on her way to visit her brother as she had been doing every day for the past two weeks since he had come to the bloody hospital. She had given Robb the chance to actually go home for a change instead of him being here all the time.

For Yara it got a bit annoying how Robb was here all the time. She understood why of course but it meant that she got little time just for herself and Theon. If she asked she was sure Robb would give them space but if she did that she felt like she was being a cunt to him.

She looked for the room marked 605 in which her brother was recovering in. It was honestly a pain to have to go all the way up but for her brother it was worth it. She knocked on the door and waited for a response. She heard a weak groan in and that was good enough for her.

Theon was looking a lot better than he had been. All of the obvious tubes and wires had been taken out of him and he had gotten the colour back into his cheeks. If it wasn't for him still being as thin as a piece of paper should would have said he looked like his old self. "Yara." He said while he smiled as best he could. He had been practising all morning as he wanted to try getting back to normal.

"Hello brother dearest. How are you doing today?" She said taking seat beside him in the chair that she had been taking for the past 14 days. It was like clockwork at this point. She'd come and chat to him either until the doctor booted her out or she got tired and Theon would tell her to go. Her one hope was that he'd get out soon and they could go out to sea as they normally did.

"They've said I've made good progress." He remembered how his doctor had come in saying he should be proud of himself. He couldn't head the advice even though he knew it was wise. Yara's eyes rolled as so often they did when talking to other people.

"I asked how you feel personally. Not what the doctors say." She knew when her baby brother was feeling awful and she wasn't going to have him lie straight to her face.

Theon gave a small sigh. She saw through his defence mechanism. "I'm shit, my body feels better but there's this sinking feeling in my stomach."

She grabbed him by the shoulders. He flinched but let her continue. "That's the lack of salt in your veins. Trust me as soon as you get out of this place you and me are going out on my personal boat the Alannys."

Theon didn't want to tell Yara how much he didn't want to do that. The crowbar to the legs made sure of that. The feeling of Ramsay on top of him as he could smell the salt of the sea not too far away. He loved the sea but he would need time before he could face it again. He needed a lot of time for everything.

"You've looked better." She commented in a jokey way. She was serious though. His body was still a bag of bones and she was half tempted to sneak him out of here so they could go down to a local pub and have a pint with some meat as well.

"I'm sorry. I know I'm a mess." He said twiddling his thumbs. He found himself doing a lot of things to keep his hands from shaking, anything from snapping his fingers to rubbing them. It was hard considering he was missing a couple of fingers but he did it nonetheless.

"Don't be sorry. You're okay." Yara reassured him.

She was going to embrace him in a big sisterly hug filled with love but unfortunately the moment she touched one of the many marks on his back he flinched. She had seen him flinch before when they were younger and she would hind behind doors to scare him on purpose however this was very, very different.

Theon wouldn't say but every time anyone tried to get close to him it felt like Ramsay was attacking him all over again. When he saw someone's arm move his brain connected it to a new discoloured patch on his skin or another bloody red line on his body, if you could even call it a line it had been done so poorly.

She was clearly was confused for a moment but then probably knew that he wouldn't want to be touched any time in the foreseeable future.

The subject clearly needed to be changed and quickly.

"Where's dad?" He said honestly wanting to know. He would have assumed that even though he was a deadbeat dad he would want to visit his son even if it was to spit in his face about how much of a failure he was.

Yara's facial expression was transformed from that of an awkward one to a dark one which made Theon a little bit scared.

"He died. He was sleepwalking apparently. Fell in the water and drowned." Yara conveyed with a hint of obvious sarcasm in her voice.

"Apparently?" Theon had picked up on both the tone of voice she used and the specific word choice. Yara was very careful when doing her speeches and always chose her words intentionally. Iron born, while not always the smartest, were always motivated in whatever they did and when they made speeches they made damn good speeches.

"Euron came back before he died. I'm suspicious." Yara suspected him the moment he appeared at her stores doorstep. She didn't like his arrogance and was ready to fight him when he said he was there to take over the boating shop that they built together.

Theon got cautious about the whole situation. "He'll hurt you if you try anything."

"I'll kill him. Peeling away his skin if he tries anything." She said spiting. Sure she didn't like her father but she'd rather have an asshole over a murderer any day. Then again anytime Balon landed a hand on any of his children he came close to becoming one.

At the mention of skin peeling Theon had grown scared of his sister. Anything or anyone that reminded him of Ramsay would be prone to set him off. He wished he could just get over this stage all ready but unfortunately he was still weak despite the therapy treatments he was getting every day.

Yara saw this beginning to happen and she didn't know what came over her but she got angry with him all of a sudden. "You're Iron Born! Snap out of this! I'm sick of seeing you shiver every time I'm here." This, not surprisingly, only made it a hell of a lot worse.

When she was doing this the Stark came into the room and was content at first until she heard her voice being raised. He had no idea what was going through her head at this moment but he knew that she wasn't thinking straight.

As she tried to yell at him more to stop his infernal sniffling she was pulled back but Robb who had seen quite enough of this display. "Yara! Stop yelling at him. You don't know what you're doing."

Yara's yelling did exactly what Robb had come to expect. Theon had begun to thrash about and he was clearly in a panic. He couldn't speak as he was too bust seeing the shadow that was surrounding him was now engulfing him and he kept on hearing Ramsay's words in his head. Everything that had been in his head became so real to him in a matter of seconds and the trauma was being relived all over again.

It was clear that Robb soothing him with words of comfort wasn't going to be good enough this time. He was far gone and Robb could see through Theon's tremoring eyes that there were three people in front of him. Robb, Yara and an apparition of Ramsay.

"Staff. Anyone help us." Robb said from out the door way as he looked around for anyone who could help them in this suddenly sticky situation. He tried to stop him from moving so much as he could have easily whacked his head of anything in the room.

A doctor who had been originally just walking along happened to see Robb's plea for help and was in the room in two seconds flat. He took a moment to analyse the situation and pieced together what was going on.

While he was still freaking out at the non-existent figure before him the doctor found a window of opportunity to carefully inject him with a sedative. Soon enough his please for Ramsay to stop and get off him were silenced and both Yara and Robb were able to take a breath and try to get over what had just happened.

The doctor did a quick test and ushered them both out so that he could properly sleep off the sedative.

Yara was still shaken at her brother's behaviour. She had heard of panic attacks but she never thought that they would be this violent.

"Shit. I didn't think. Fuck." She said as she kicked a chair. As many people could tell within having one conversation with her she didn't exactly channel her anger gracefully.

"Yara it's not something he can just shake off. This is severe mental trauma you can't just tell him to snap out of it." Robb scolded her a bit more harshly then he should have. The stress of everything had calmed down mostly but his anger still resided within him and he had only let it out by slashing at a tree in the back garden of Catelyn's house with one of Sam's prop swords that he had gotten for Christmas.

"It's the iron born part of me talking. We don't exactly accept mental illness."

The iron born were like what most people would expect. Most of them were criminals. Not all but most. They also had some pretty old fashioned ideologies. While thankfully for Theon they were accepting of homosexual relationships they didn't believe in weakness in any form. From physical to mental it wasn't accepted. Yara was more up to speed on the times but she had been raised in an environment where that was essentially law so it was common that she'd think a thing like that. She hated herself for it now more than ever.

She sat down and bit her lip. "What news on Ramsay? Where's the bastard who did all of this?"

"He's getting put into isolation." Robb answered with a thankful heart.

"Good." They would have continued their conversation had it not been for a middle aged woman with hair that had been kissed by the flames walking in and right up to them. Yara couldn't recognise who it was at first glance but Robb knew in a second.

"Mum." Robb said as he ran up and hugged her she returned the favour. Yara seeing Catelyn Stark and most likely knowing how much she had hurt Robb by saying all those horrible things at fake Theon's graveside decided that she should take her leave and avoid her giving her an earful.

Besides she felt like she had done enough already and should probably leave before she caused any more trouble. She texted Daenerys to let her know she would be coming home now and that they could curl up and talk about things.

While Yara left Catelyn took a good look at her son and handed him the clothes that she guessed she would have to bring for him. The hospital was pretty much his second home now and by the stubble that began to form on his face she guessed he wasn't taking much care of his own personal hygiene. She had warned him many times that he must take care of himself if he is going to take care of Theon.

"Oh Robb. I don't know why I didn't visit sooner." She did know exactly why she hadn't visited sooner but in this situation it seemed appropriate to say it.

She had intentionally been putting it off for obvious reasons. At first she had wanted to go but then she also remembered the last time she had seen him and while she had fully recovered from the traumatic event the scars of being a hostage of Ramsay were still there and she couldn't face it at that point in time.

"It's okay you may have to wait another while though." He looked towards the room Theon was in and through the window he could see he was still peacefully sleeping in the bed.

"Why?" Catelyn had suddenly become concerned that he had taken a turn for the worst and she had come at a bad time.

"He took a bad panic attack and they had to sedate him." It felt weird saying those words but it was what had happened. Catelyn looked into the window and a sigh left her lips. The poor lad had been through so much and what she had seen was only a glimpse of the endless torture he had been put through. She guessed the mental scars were just as bad as the ones she had seen painfully inflicted onto him.

"I see. I'll wait with you until he does wake up." She said. Robb's finger raised in protest but Catelyn shot him a glare and he slowly lowered it knowing there would be no point in trying to fight her. Cat's word was law and if she was stay until he woke up that was what she was going to bloody do.

And so they sat and waited.

The clock was now saying 5:34 pm. The visiting hours would be over at 7 and he was wondering if he would wake up sometime today. Considering it was about noon when the panic attack had taken place they began wondering if he was going to be out of it all day.

While Robb wasn't mindlessly playing at random apps on his phone he would look up for any signs of movement and after the sixth time he saw that Theon was rolling about seemingly beginning to awake from his slumber. Catelyn had the same idea but Robb would go in first to make sure everything was alright.

He nodded to his mother and she waited begrudgingly outside. He knocked on the door creating a loud enough knock. "Theon are you awake?"

Theon made a small groaning noise and gave a small nod. The anaesthetic had worn of a majority and he could form sentences but his body was still very relaxed.

When Robb heard this he went in first and left Cat out in the hall way. Since it was coming into the winter months of the year despite it being early in the day it had grown dark outside. Robb could practically hear the sultry voice of the red woman saying how the night was dark and full of terrors. He didn't understand their religion but it seemed to make them happy so he respected it but steered clear of them, especially Stannis. He seemed a bit 'Unstable' for a lack of a better word.

Theon looked round at the source of the opening and when he saw it was only Robb he let go of the breath that he had been holding.

"Hey. How are you doing? "Theon clearly wasn't in a talking mood and just slumped over onto his side. He tried to give a smile but it was clearly just a show for Robb. Both of them were aware of this obvious fact so he stopped. Robb did what had had been doing on his previous visits and began his small talk.

"I tried to bring you food but they wouldn't let me. Your stomach is kind of messed up due to the malnutrition. I did bring you something else though." He said as he remembered the gift he had gotten him.

Theon was confused for a moment but then from behind Robb's back he pulled out a small yellow squid plush with a small black bow on the top of it. Theon was confused for a moment but he took it and felt it. It was extra soft and filled with stuffing. Robb had made it specifically for him in the likeness in one of his childhood toys, he didn't know if it would help him feel better but he thought he might as well try everything he could.

He was surprised by how soft it was. He hadn't really felt anything of this type for a while she he was holding onto it for dear life. No way was he going to have it taken away. If reminded his of the toys his mother had given him and also the only real time he had felt true contentment in his life. He wished his mother could be here now, doing that thing which she used to do where she'd mess up his hair and say how he was going to grow up and be a strong sailor of the sea.

Theon should have known that the stuck up doctors and nurses would have stopped him getting food. He was so hungry all the time and now that he could eat freely they were withholding from him. He was still slightly terrified of the prospect of eating without being told first.

As Ramsay would tell him "I'm your provider and your lover. You are mine and I only say when you eat. If I so much as find one of my rats with your filthy teeth marks all over it and I didn't tell you to you're going to have to play a punishment game."

He cuddle the toy for a bit at the thought of Ramsay spitting those words into his ear while Robb bit his lip waiting to apologize. He knew it wasn't his fault but he still felt like he should for his sake.

"I'm sorry we had you sedated. You were freaking out." He watched as Theon momentarily stopped ogling over the toy and looked at him as to say 'what the fuck are you talking about?' Theon blinked his eyes a couple of second before he remembered what had happened before the blackness. He only turned away from Robb again. He knew he shouldn't have freaked out and he was honestly still expecting a punishment for it.

"When can I go home?"

He didn't mean the Stark household or the Greyjoy household. He meant the crappy small decaying apartment that he and Robb shared for a little over 3 years. He didn't care that the last time he was in it he and Robb had the verbal fight which lead to his year of hell it was the only place they knew that was safe. He'd would have forgotten the smell of dog and rotted wood had Ramsay not had those things exactly the same in his home.

"It's going to be another while. You've only been here for 2 weeks. The doctors aren't sure but they saw you'll be out by November. You've done natural healing with your scars and all you need to do is wait until your stomach is stabilized and your muscle had grown back. Then you can leave. You're going to have to come back for surgeries though."

"Oh..." Theon would have thought that they let him back sooner because he had been doing so well in terms of healing with being Ramsay's pet for a long time. Just like Yara he too had to have it explained that it wasn't how the human body worked.

Robb coughed briskly wanting to move on seeing how the news had disappointed him. His head had drooped a little and he began his stroking of the toy. "You need time to heal. Also they want to make sure you're better mentally before leaving."

"That'll be a while." It was said in the half joking half serious tone of voice. Trying as hard as he could still wasn't enough for the Greyjoy. Every night it was the uncomfortable feeling of someone watching him constantly and everyday it was the anticipation of seeing Ramsay or one of his bastard boys walking through that door.

"I have hope for you."

Theon was tempted to make a joke about how he had little hope then himself. He then knew it would have made him smile and he still wasn't comfortable with that prospect. Ramsay had made it very clear when he wanted him to smile and when his smiling was considered cocky and Ramsay would have to take away some of his teeth to teach him respect.

Robb knew the look. It was one of Theon's old facials expressions. When he was going to make a snarky remark or dirty joke at the dinner table but restrained himself out of fear of what Catelyn would yell at him. It left Robb a physical gut wrenching feeling seeing how much he had been changed.

"It's weird. I'm still in the Reek mind set but I know I don't have to be there anymore. God I'm never going to free of him." He couldn't bare to look at Robb when he said this.

Theon had tried his best not to let the tears fall and not start clawing at his head but the true realization had hit him finally and he knew it was going to be 100% true. All of Theon's might was used to get rid of Ramsay from out of his head but all of his attempts were for nothing. Every second even when he was awake he was with him some form thankfully when he was asleep he was able to get some peace.

The Stark's hand reached out to help but he stopped himself before he could touch him. He knew how sensitive he could be and a repeat of earlier was not something he wanted. In time he would recover and it would be okay but for now all he could do was be there as an emotional support. Physical touch was of the charts and Robb was fine with that.

"It's going to be shit at first but it can get better. As long as you let me help you."

"I know Robb." This was the Robb that Theon loved. The one where he was always trying to do the right thing and he did it so well.

Theon had a genuine smile for a split second. It was a big step but it was some form of progress. It was a shame that Robb was looking down at his stub of fingers to notice it. There was a debate whether Theon should try to do it again when he was looking but he decided not to. It only caused him pain to do it.

He however was able to perk up Robb's head with one simple statement. "I never said thank you."

"You don't have to thank me Theon." Robb was astounded to think that Theon was thanking him. He understood it but there was no need for thanks. He was his love and he did everything he could to save him.

For the second time a soft knocking could be heard at the door. Robb ad nearly forgotten all about his mother still waiting outside. Theon assumed it was another doctor going to come in and check his leg or his muscles or something else that was wrong with him. If he was being honest he still sort of felt like a prisoner. Yes he truly had his freedom but he was confined to a tiny bed. AT least this prison was comfortable.

"Also if you want Catelyn is outside. She really wants to meet you." Robb said in a gentle voice. He hoped that time had healed wounds and Theon would be more than happy to visit Catelyn. Unlike what he hoped he got what he expected. Theon looked at him horrified and shook his head to say not a chance in hell.

"No… I can't. Not after what happened."

Robb sighed. "If it's about when Ramsay made her watch him doing…those things to you it's okay. She's not mad. She's worried about you."

Theon wasn't going to allow his mind to betray him a second time that day and he wasn't going to be drugged again so he calmed himself the best he could and replied "It's not about what happened the first time."

"Then what?" Robb's worry began to increase. His skin was crawling all over at the thought of there being a second time that he wasn't aware of. The first time had been revolting enough from what Catelyn told them in the report so whatever happened a second time must have been much, much worse in order to torment him this badly.

"Please Robb. Stop it you know what happened." Theon begged him. The memory of the event was plaguing him and Robb's obliviousness to it was only making him feel worse. Instead of his nails digging into his own flesh they were now digging into the squid toy and he was squeezing so hard he managed to loosen one of the button eyes.

"Theon what are you talking about?"

"Your…sister."

It was at this point Robb began internally screaming to himself. Ramsay had gotten his hands on one of his sisters and he hadn't known about it. How could he have missed such an important detail? He hadn't recalled anything be off with the two girls. Arya had been practicing her fencing with Jaqen H'ghar for the past while so he doubted Ramsay would have even gotten close to her while Sansa was still going out with Margaery and she seemed happier then she had in a long time.

Theon wasn't crying. He was much too tired for that. He grabbed Robb's hand and cuddle with it. It was the only way he was sure that he could seek forgiveness. Robb allowed him to do it and the two of them silently accepted each other. He didn't want to damage the gift that Robb ahd given him so he left it on the ground for now.

"I still love you Theon." Robb had waited for a long time to say it and now he seemed like he needed it more than ever before.

Theon cast his eyes down. He didn't deserve such kindness. He wondered if Robb knew it yet too.

Theon took a moment to get out of his normal spiral of self-loathing and pity. He reached his hand up to Robb's chin and stroked it for a moment. He thought he would be brave enough to go in for a kiss but he wasn't ready for that just yet. He did know that over the two weeks had had built up enough of his courage to say one very important phrase.

"Robb…I love you." Even though it was said through a swollen lip and broken teeth he mean every single syllable. To him it wasn't much but to Robb it meant everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Theon gets to go home with Robb. Fluff. Just fluff.


	20. The Normality Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theon and RObb spend their first night home together. It has it's ups and downs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Theon's beginning to experience some happiness. Enjoy. I tried really hard for this one because fluff Throbb gives me life.

To the rest of the world things had been going on as normal but with the Stark and Greyjoy household things had been tenser than ever. November 7th was the day he was being released from hospital despite Robb's protests. Theon assured everyone that he was well enough to go home however it was always clear that he didn't know what home he would be returning to. Half of his fragile mind was thinking that he'd be going back to Ramsay.

Much to his surprise Robb had not moved out of the apartment. He would have assumed he would move to the house that he wanted to move to. All he remembered was that it was in the country side. Or was it the one in the city? The night of the fight was so long ago he didn't even remember which one he had wanted in the first place. Compared to everything else it now seemed ridiculous that it was the reason he had walked out on that night and gone to that bloody bar.

"Welcome home." Robb said pushing open the door to reveal a somewhat similar place but it wasn't how he had last seen it. Last time it had been their disorderly home. In all honesty they weren't really the best housekeepers and when it came to chores they often just did what each one did best. Theon washed the dishes and clothes while Robb was in charge of doing all the manual labour.

It was a working relationship. Or at least it was until Ramsay broke it.

Theon's took his fist steps in and while his body was standing as stiff as a board his mind was folding underneath all of the flashes of how happy he once was. Blurred visions of him and Robb sitting on the sofa and eating junk food while watching whatever crap was on the television. It was the exact opposite of what Ramsay's idea of a night in was.

Ramsay wouldn't let him watch anything except for special occasions. Those special occasions being when a news report about his killings was being done or when a natural disaster with lots of death happening. Then there was when he'd invite his friends over and they'd watch the footage of their hunts all while Theon was serving them of course. If he had to choose between Ramsay's bastard boys and being on the cross he would take being strapped down a million times over.

They were about as well trained as Ramsay's dogs were. They'd be perfectly good for their master until he let them loose. Theon could recall when he gave the command that their bored and annoyed eyes would turn dark and blood hungry. With Ramsay's permission they did everything that they could think of as among the gang he had been dubbed the stress relief. While most of the mental scars had been Ramsay's doing the physical ones that had stayed were all thanks to his friends.

Only a couple of steps were taken before a big body of fluff had suddenly pounced upon Theon. Robb didn't have time to react. All Theon knew was that there was a great weight on top of him and a tongue licking his face and he had to do something.

"Kyra! Down!" Theon yelled as he struck the threat against the nose and it seemed to do the trick. Both of them heard a thud and then a scraping sound against the floor. Grey Wind's paws scraping against the floor as he scampered away. There was a couple seconds delayed reaction and then he realised what he had done to Robb's dog

Theon ran after him and found him on the bed and when he entered the dog turned to look him dead in the eyes. Grey Wind looked terrified of him. Theon couldn't describe it. Seeing someone actually terrified of him was an unusual feel as he had always been the one cowering in fear of other.

"Oh fuck. Oh shit Grey Wind. I didn't think-I thought that-I'm sorry. You're a good boy and I'm just a stupid idiot." Theon petted him in order to show he was sorry. He luckily happened to know a couple tricks on how to get dogs to like you when you accidently mistreated them. Living in the kennels for an extended amount of time made sure he could get any dog to do what he wanted.

Robb didn't even have to ask what had happened. He assumed that one of the many vicious dogs they had found must have been called Kyra and he was simply getting reality and the past confused. He knew it probably would not be the last situation where it happened but Robb was going to be prepared from now on.

He first rubbed his ears and then slowly worked his way down to a special spot on the neck where he then gave him belly rubs until Grey Wind had clearly accepted his apology and was happily licking away at his face. Theon sighed with relief. The last thing he needed was a dog constantly mad at him. Barking always put him on edge as the dogs often barked when they found their prey during a hunt.

He continued the motion while Grey Wind rolled over and looked for belly rubs. He was nothing like Ramsay's bitches which he supposed it was a good thing. Then again the only friends he had were the dogs. Maybe Grey Wind could be a replacement for Kyra. Or perhaps he should just try to forget Kyra all together.

"I'm glad you two have made up." Robb said from the doorway startling them both. Grey Wind ran up to his master while Theon remained on the edge of the bed. He was tempted to do the same as the dog but he knew he had to try and get back to normal and running up to someone and waiting by their feet wasn't exactly what normal people did.

"I shouldn't have hit him in the first place." He said still guilt ridden over what had just happened.

Robb coughed and motioned for Grey Wind to go play somewhere else for the time being. He would make sure there was no damage later but for now he would focus on the more damaged of the two. "Hey let's not think about it. How about we do something? So what do you want to do?" He suggested as a distraction could prove to be very useful. It would take both their minds of things for a little bit and they might be able to relax. Might.

"What do you want to do?" Theon asked making Robb feel in control as he always did with his previous master.

"You can choose." Robb said. Theon's psychologist had mentioned that if was able to let Theon have a choice in anything he should let him in order to give him back his sense of authority and power.

"Ummmm…Options?" To be honest Theon had almost forgotten that there were a variety of entertainment and activities that didn't have to psychologically mess him up in some way.

Robb paused for a moment. He assured that Theon would just say something and they could do it. In his detectives mind he was either thinking that Theon was making him choose as he felt he couldn't choose or it could have been that he simply forgotten his interests and

"Well we can play a videogame?" Robb said knowing that before everything Theon loved videogames. He would always get the newest ones that took his fancy and that often meant draining his month's wages to do so. Robb always complained how he needed to focus on more important and serious things and Theon would always tell him that's what he was there for, to be serious enough for the both of them.

He handed Theon a controller and while Robb was looking at games Theon was going to form a smile but then he realized why this was a bad idea. Robb didn't see the problem until he saw Theon holding the controller. Or at least trying to.

"Umm fingers…." He raised his hand and showed how him not having a full set made it difficult for him to have a proper grip on the controller. It was so difficult he had to set it down before he dropped it onto the floor.

Robb was mortified that he hadn't thought about it. It was such a stupid small thing yet it made him feel like the worst person in the world. He still hadn't quite accepted the fact that Theon now was missing body parts and it wasn't anything small either. These were things that would affect his daily life. He suppose it was a good thing that only 3 fingers were severed between each of his hands but from what he had seen at the hospital he was still getting used to holding things. Theon was obviously very uncomfortable about all of this.

"Sorry I wasn't thinking." He took it back and put it away so that Theon wouldn't have to see it and be reminded.

Theon tried to think of something fun to do but it was difficult. His fun activities for the past year hadn't been kind ones. To actually not have to worry about it left him uneasy but he was generally starting to accept the idea every day. Robb had expected that he would want to sleep as soon as he got him but he said that he had been sleeping long enough in the itchy hospital bed.

"Could we maybe watch a movie? The best times with Ramsay was when he would put on a movie. He wouldn't do anything."

He felt a small pinch of his control coming back when he said his request.

Robb while uncomfortable at the wording liked the sound of a movie. It was a simple thing they could do together and also he didn't think it wouldn't take too much of a toll on Theon. It was a set plan. Naturally he was going to let Theon choose the movie so he opened up the drawer in which he kept the dvds in and showed him what he had gotten. He hoped he had something more appropriate.

"What do you have?" Theon gingerly asked. If anyone had asked Theon about a year and a half ago what dvds he had he would be able to tell you in chronological order. He loved his movies almost as much as he loved Robb. Now he couldn't even name a single movie he used to love.

"I don't know what you would like?" Instead of thinking for himself he let Robb chose for him. He knew that he would know best.

"What about that one?" He pointed towards a dvd which had what seemed to be a red hoodie wearing teenage girl who seemed to be standing above a bear trap. Robb hid that one out of sight immediately. He knew what was in that one and no chance in hell was Theon watching that one as it involved a torture process that he guessed would not have a positive effect on him.

Theon was under the impression he had made a wrong choice and pointed to another one before Robb would hurt him. He bit his lip to the point he almost drew blood. His mind had to stop linking the kind and brave Robb Stark with the vile Ramsay Bolton.

"That one?" His finger shakily pointing towards one which seemed to have a boat on the cover.

This was defiantly a lot better. The Pirates of the Caribbean film, the first one naturally as it was the definitive best although the second one did have Davy Jones and the fourth one did have mermaids. The first was Theon's favourite as it was just a good mix of everything. Sword fights and ships blowing up.

Robb remembered how on one of their first dates how Theon had literally dragged him along to go see it. While he may have been reluctant at first he did end up enjoying it a lot more then he should have. Theon was so dedicated he hid a small eye patch in his bag and when the movie started he put it on for what he called 'Authentic pirate viewing'.

It was at this point he knew that Theon and him were going to be just fine together. His wonder was adorable to him.

Robb held up the movie in his hand and Theon studied it carefully. It took him a moment before he could remember why it was significant and then he gave a small nod of approval. He had been through so much that honestly he found it more than troubling to remember what it was like before him. Yet it was also the only thing he could think about when he was either on the cross or in the kennels.

In a matter of minutes everything had been set up and the music of the menu was playing loud and it made Theon jump out of his half shredded skin. Thankfully loud noises weren't really what set him off. It was suspenseful creaking and barking dogs. Ramsay was a lot more subtle then most would think.

And so they began to watch the movie, Robb sitting up normally while Theon lay down on his side to avoid any unwanted pain for the majority of the film.

About halfway into the movie Robb's phone began to vibrate rapidly and Robb took a quick glance to see it was Jon who was calling him. Theon was seemingly engrossed in the movie and felt bad about leaving him alone but if it was about work he would have to.

"You keep on watching. I have to take this."

Theon grabbed onto him and dug his chewed to the nub nails into his skin. Robb gasped at the sudden pain and Theon let go. In that one moment he had been so frightened of Robb leaving him that he didn't know what to do other then hold on for dear life.

"I just need to take a call. I swear I will be right back." Robb promised. Theon's eyes were filled with uncertainty but he knew that he could trust Robb. He wouldn't lie to him. He retracted his hands and held himself. Robb tried to reach out but he decided he would rather be left alone at the moment.

He walked into the other room while keeping the door half open so he could keep a small eye on the Greyjoy.

"What do you want Jon? Theon and I were in the middle of a movie."

From the way Jon sounded he was annoyed and considering he had the patience of a saint and the best heart of anyone he knew. Robb assumed it was news of Ramsay.

He looked back to Theon and he had wrapped what had been dubbed the 'fuzzy blanket' around himself and he didn't seem to be watching the movie anymore but instead was doubled over on his side. He was either asleep or thinking very hard about something.

Jon sounded like he took another sigh. "It's about Ramsay's trial date. It's going to begin in three weeks. They want Theon as a witness."

Robb was very close to dropping the phone. He had grown accustom to controlling his anger but this was pushing that skill to the very limit. On the other side of the call Jon was readying himself for whatever obscenity was about to be thrown his way. Robb then looked back to Theon and knew that they were having a good time right now so he didn't need to spoil it by possibly triggering him.

"No. He can't go through that. He's traumatized enough as it. He-He can't even hear his name without having a full blown panic attack."

There had been an incident at the hospital where another police officer had been taking in his statement and he happened to say Ramsay's name in the context of the question 'If Ramsay was here now would you be able to identify him?". Theon had only been listening to half the sentence and thought that Ramsay was in the hospital and had one of the worst panic attacks to date. He was physically sick all over himself and almost bit his entire fingernail off he was that tense about going back.

"He's a key witness. He needs to be there. They've seen he's out of the hospital and he's recovered from most of his wounds."

Robb was torn. Of course Ramsay was going to be sent to jail on that there was no debate but then again if the jury were to physically see Theon then they would convinced to sentence him to death. Another factor would be Theon's already decayed mental state and how a trial might be the end of him. He had seen how victims going as witnesses to trails could glad to depression and other things. Then again the jury might have been ripe with burning corruption. Him being there could change their opinion and refuse any money being offered to them.

"I'll ask him." He said not wanting to deal with it now. He said his quick good byes and hung up wanting to get back to Theon. When Robb hung up he went back to the 'Squidling' as he was called and found him half asleep and half awake.

"I was wondering about cuddling." Theon asked while his eyes directed themselves to the ground.

Robb was curious to say the least. If he was saying what he thought he was saying then he was all on board for it. "What about it?"

"I want to try it. My therapist suggest casual contact." Theon had been thinking about this ever since the hospital. He simply had never known the right time to ask about it.

"Are you sure?" Robb had to be 100% sure that Theon was okay with doing it.

"I am." Theon was more confident then Robb was in the moment.

Robb had never been more careful in all of his life. He somewhat had a vague memory of how much scarring was on his back.

Sadly Theon was never big enough to be considered the big spoon. Robb wasn't religious but he prayed that Ramsay hadn't cuddled him much so that at least he could have cuddling to do with Theon. Sex was completely out of the question for now. Neither of them would be able to in his current state and there was the other determining factor. From the stern doctors examination it seemed that Ramsay hadn't just cut the pillar as he cut the stones as well so he was warned his sex drive would be practically non-existent. He wouldn't want to put Theon through anything like that.

Theon was summoning all of his willpower not to scream and try and get away from him but he resisted. Robb's build was very much like Ramsay's, both were muscular while still having very toned chests. If there had been the smell of death to accompany it then Theon wouldn't have known he was anywhere else.

As they both got comfortable strangely they were both okay. Robb was more okay however. Theon in a strange way was comforted too. He hadn't expected it to go so well for him but for the first time in months he wasn't thinking about Ramsay or anything that had happened. He was focusing solely on the young lone wolf.

He pressed play and for another good while they were able to watch the movie in peace. Robb had waited so long to do it and he was not disappointed. The missing piece of him had returned and while it would be a while before it felt right again he was still more then grateful to have it.

It was about 31 minutes in when sudden metallic swooshing sound coming from the tv had spooked Theon. He gave a long shudder. The sound was reminiscent of when Ramsay had first started to use the knife. He would drag it along a metal pipe for dramatic effect. Robb had noticed but he didn't think much of it. It wasn't until Theon's body was twitching like mad that he noticed something was defiantly wrong. Short bursts of air on Theon's neck were putting him back into the moment.

Robb could feel him physically tensing up and it was almost like he was too panicked to move.

"You can move if you want to. I'm not going to hit you." Robb told him while trying to carefully pull himself away in case Theon would decide to do the same to him like he did with Grey Wind earlier.

As soon as Theon heard the permission command he had jerked away and was backing up against the sofa. He tried to put into practice the breathing techniques he was taught but he couldn't even think straight to begin with. The helplessness was coming back to him and the imagined presence of Ramsay along with it.

"That was nice. I liked it. I'm sorry I freaked out towards the end." He apologize as quickly as he could. Ramsay was right. He did mess everything up. There were only so few ways that he could be forgiven. And he would rather like to forget all of those wretched ways. Every day he wished that he could just shed this bloody Reek persona and just get back to himself.

Robb sighed. He knew that despite how many times he told him it was fine he wouldn't get it quite just yet. It was going to take a lot of time and a lot of patience.

Before the both of them knew it the credits had begun to roll. Theon had somewhat enjoyed the movie. It had been better the first couple of times he had seen it but he couldn't help that his mind was on other things at the moment.

Seeing as the movie was now over and they had failed to eat any of the snacks that Robb had prepared and he could hear Theon's stomach calling out he decided that some dinner was in order. He got up and checked in the fridge just to make sure there was actual food in the house. Thankfully there was some prawns and muscles which should suffice.

"How about I make you some sea food? I know you like it." He suggested. If there was one Greyjoy trait that was common it was the love of the sea and their love of sea food.

"That sounds wonderful but you don't have to waste good food on me." He said almost out of instinct. Lesson 1 was that he was worth nothing. That he would never be worth anything. He was lower than insects and lower than the dirt. He also mentioned how that the only reason he happened to be feeding him was because even dogs needed feeding now and again.

"I want to do it. You deserve to be treated like a prince." He said as he began to get out the necessary ingredients for the meal. Theon wasn't sure how to respond. He still had trouble thinking that it was a genuine comment and not some malicious attempt to trick him.

Theon was still becoming accustomed to the idea of him having food on the go and having it actually something he liked instead of a couple of scraps of old bread or something worse.

It only took about twenty minutes for it to ready and done. Theon had to admit when it was placed in front of him it smelled delicious. Unlike the controller he was still able to use a knife and fork. Getting in control of them had been difficult at the start but he had learned with the help of the nurse who brought him his meals at the hospital.

"Thank you."

He felt like he hadn't said it enough to Robb and he never could for what he did. It was still hard to adjust to normality but having a familiar face along the way was making it a lot easier for him. The feeling of him being a burden on Robb was of course there weighing on his chest all the time but Robb seemed to be happy enough. It was only a matter of time before Robb grew bored with him. Theon was practically counting down the days.

Theon sat and ate the sea food paella. It was a lot better than he remembered then again he doubted he'd never take food for granted again. Robb at some points had to tell him to slow down and stop scoffing. Theon was uncomfortable when it looked like he was going to say anything. There were lots of things Ramsay told him when he was eating but the worst was he was being selfish.

Robb began to eat and saw that Theon had put down the fork. He didn't want to say anything so he got Theon's eyes to focus on his own. He showed him eating in a weird way hoping that he would see that eating normal food was okay. Theon once again picked it up knowing that Robb was silently supporting him while doing so.

He had finished the good sized portion in under four minutes. Theon felt like he was going to physically vomit but he had trained himself not to throw up any food he got. It was actually quite an amazing trick which only worked about half of the time.

"That was good. Better than the hospital slop they gave me." Every time Theon tried to tell a joke it came out more like forced words then actual humour. Robb knew it was him trying to get back to his old self and while that was good he knew that it wasn't the healthiest thing to try and be doing at this moment in time. He needed to cry, scream, yell and doing anything and everything that would let him get his emotions out.

Then again what he said was the honest truth. Any food was better then what little he had been fed over the last year. Even if it did taste awful at least he was getting it on a regular basis. Robb took both bowls and left them in the sink for him to deal with later but for now they both sort of agreed that they'd kill more time by putting on something else, another movie. Possibly another romantic comedy which didn't have any violence or loud bangs.

After the food had settle in their stomachs and they had begun to watch another movie. This time they had chosen an animated adventure involving dragons and knights, Robb wasn't paying attention. Despite it being a while after the phone call the question was still largely on Robb's mind. There was no time like the present so instead of asking it in a calm and considerate manner he ended up kind of just blurting it out.

He could just see how happy he was in this moment in time and he didn't want to disturb him. Somehow after everything he had been through he still looked like the person he loved and was still in love with. He would get there in the end. "Hey Theon. Can I ask you something?"

Theon nodded yes.

"It's about Ramsay. His trial is coming up soon and they want to have you as a witness to his crimes." Said Robb through a layer of nervousness.

Theon was silent. He was almost too still when Robb was anticipating a panic attack. "When I go to court, I'll have to tell them how I'm as bad a murderer as he was." He said his voice shaky and a strong sweat beginning to form on his brow. While Ramsay was a criminal Theon had been forced to do things and he doubted the court would be able to overlook them.

"You are not-!"

"I did terrible things with Ramsay. If only I hadn't been so concerned with my own life I could have saved them. Every man, woman and…child." Robb's ears could defiantly pick up on the tone of the last word in the sentence.

"I'm sure whatever happened it wasn't that bad. You didn't have a choice." If Robb hand't been the only other person who cared about him Theon might had thrown a lamp at him. Theon had grown frustrated with Robb at this point. "Why are you acting like nothing happened? Why do you act like your baby sister never existed?" His voice was still full of fear but there was more power behind this one, almost anger.

Once again Robb was confused by Theon's accusation of him having a family member who never even existed. "Catelyn's last child was Rickon. She hasn't had any children recently."He told him plainly yet gently as to not upset him.

It took one moment for everything to click into place. Then something rather out of the ordinary happened.

"Ha. Ha. Ha."

This was not a normal laugh. This was just a mask for the cruel and gut wrenching sob that came soon after. Briskly he shot up to get away from Robb at the horror of Ramsay trick just setting in. Robb was still shocked by the laugh he couldn't move. He wanted to ask so many question but judging by how Theon was moving his mouth he was about to spill all.

"He made me think he'd raped Catelyn and that they had a child. The night after the 'two way mirror incident' when he kidnapped her. Robb I tried…I thought…Oh god."

This was a whole other level of fucked up. He should have expected something like this to come from Ramsay but that was just unimaginable. "Calm down Squid. Explain what happened fully. I never really understood what you meant by some of the things you said." Robb could already guess what the majority of the story would be like however he needed all of the details. If it affected the trial then he needed to know about it.

"It all began 3 months before I was rescued…."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next: Flashback Chapter and more Robb comforting our sad squid. 
> 
> Also quick poll for you faithful readers. Do you want Theon to go to the trial of Ramsay Bolton or not?


	21. The Guilt Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theon recalls a tale of how Ramsay made him suffer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya. Sorry for the slight delay. Also the jury came in and most people voted for the court scene to happen. He won't be getting off lightly. Chapter rated P for pretty fucked up.
> 
> *Note. Next chapter update will be delayed due to vacation.*

It was with a shaky voice and a guilty conscious that Theon began the sombre tale in where the last few months of his captivity had been. The kennels where he had slept with Ramsay's pure breed bitches. When he remembered the beginning of the day he thought back to how he had been trying his hardest to cover up a scratch he accidentally made when he sweeping up. It had been so stupid of his to try and use the metal rake to try and sweep up the leaves that had blown in.

He had been here for just a little over nine months at this point and Theon had been no where in sight. There had only been Reek working away and doing his chores like the good little obedient slave he was. Day after day toiling in the kennels waiting for whatever Ramsay had planned for the day. Some days were much worse then others but all they had in common was that there was never such a thing as a good day.

His hands had multiple splinters from the dodgy broom he was using and the small rag he had wrapped around his hands wasn't doing much to help. He had gotten pretty good at using what fingers he had left for doing his various tasks are what was now considered his home. Life was good considering his circumstances. A least he was no longer subjected to the cross or any form of branding.

"Stupid, idiot. He's going to hurt you for this." He muttered to himself in a repetitive fashion as he needed to remind himself of how much he needed to hide it.

Reek had been cleaning the kennels when he had heard the door click open. He desperately covered the scratch with some straw and tried his best to show the right amount of fear for Ramsay incoming. If he showed too much Ramsay would know he was up to something but if he didn't show enough then Master would make sure that he did. It was all about the eyes. While Theon's eyes were a fiery dark and full of terrors Ramsay's were their exact counter. Light icy blue and monstrous obsession.

His footsteps came closer and Theon crawled towards his masters boot and kneeled down before his presence. The quivering sensation through his body was automatically switched on almost like a defence mechanism. He gazed lazily up while Ramsay seemingly ignored him. He should have suspected it after the 274th day it would happen. Another technique to make him feel inadequate and further more cripple his self esteem, not that it couldn't get any lower though.

The moment Theon raised his head even the slightest Ramsay was smiling down upon him. Theon's eyes directed them towards to the floor, he couldn't risk looking him in the eyes. He needed something else to focus on. Something like the florescent pink blanket that he had hidden in his arms. Reek was smart enough to know that something was up but Reek also appreciated his life so he said nothing until he was spoken to. Ramsay liked it this way.

"Ohhh Reeeeeeeeeeeek there's someone I'd like you to meet." His voice sweet as candy but his eyes hiding a bitter nature behind them.

Theon stepped up towards Ramsay while his body like a hundred year old building as it was about to collapse. Ramsay held out what he had been holding and Ramsay's eyes let Theon know it was okay to proceed. Theon always needed permission from Ramsay while Ramsay always took what he wanted without having to ask first. It was unfair but it was clear the gods hated him.

Theon was allowed to peel back the blanket and revealed a sleeping baby. It was very in character of Ramsay to kidnap a new born from its mother. He was aware that it very well could be Ramsay's child but it didn't seem that his master was all too fond of kids. There was a scheme and the fun part would be him finding out what it was.

"Here! Take her." Theon rushed to grab her as he legitimately thought that Ramsay was going to toss the child to him but he was just pretending to throw it. When Reek got close enough Ramsay did sort of drop the baby down into his hands. Due to the three amputations holding her was difficult but he managed not to cause any further injury.

"You're probably wondering who she is? This little bundle of joy is me and Catelyn's bastard child. She was a good fuck but I let her go. Too old for my taste but a flower plucked is still a flower." She must have been no older than a couple of days old. Theon assumed it was a joke but the kid had Catelyn's exact orange hair so the odds of it being a trap were unlikely.

It was disgusting to hear him talk this way about Catelyn. Then again disgust was something he wasn't allowed to feel any more if he was going to make it through. If he wasn't trapped in the middle of god knows where he could hear Catelyn's voice screeching for her child.

Theon was going to speak but he knew permission always had to be granted first. Theon's tongue rolled over the gap in his mouth and reminded himself how he shouldn't speak without being spoken to first. Ramsay grabbed his hand and gently stroked it letting him know it was okay.

In a voice that was wasn't his own he asked the question.

"Wh-h-at's her na-a-ame?" He wanted to ask this first as he felt like just calling it the baby would become repetitive though repetition was very common given his situation. Make Ramsay happy, clean up and do whatever he wanted. That was his life. Ramsay always planned for things so it felt odd that he hadn't even thought of a name for the baby he had picked up from the hospital. He ripped the small name tag of the babes' wrist before he could even look at it as he didn't want to raise suspicion. He got the occasional odd look as he left the hospital but they all assumed it was a single father taking home his new born daughter. Nothing was suspicious at all. Well maybe the fact that he left a trail of small occasional blood drops.

"I don't know. Haven't thought of one yet. Maybe Walda or Sansa. No something more original." He talked to himself most of the time as Theon seldom responded to whatever sarcastic quip or sadist words he was spouting out. He dreaded thinking he would have to call the child Sansa. Then again if it grew up to look like her then it would be worse. Given it was _"Catelyn's"_ child that possibility was out of the question.

Theon moved cloth covering her face again as it had fallen back on again. She was miraculously still asleep. It was the first piece of innocence he had seen in a long time and he wasn't quite sure how to react. The last time he could think of was when Ramsay was holding one of Violet's pups after being born. His first instinct was of course to protect her from her father's wrath but on the other hand he couldn't protect her. He couldn't even protect himself.

She made a couple of baby sounding noises and groaned. Theon knew this sound as the sound of a baby who wanted fed. Ramsay just assumed that newborns only wanted food so he guessed that was want she was whining about. "Feed her." He said sharply. He had trained the dogs to be quiet by hitting them so he was almost a hundred percent sure that he could do the same with a human infant.

Theon was expecting Ramsay to hand him some form of baby formula and a bottle but nothing came. "With w-what mi'lord?"

Ramsay didn't want to have to actually think about buying all the baby essentials and Ramsay was a man who always chose the easiest solution unless he could have a more entertaining one. This solution was both to him. "Whatever I give you share with her."

Theon wanted so badly to call him out but he knew what would happen if he did. He barely got table scraps and now he had to share them with someone who couldn't even chew yet. He would considering grinding it up with something but nothing was clean and he doubted the bread would be soft enough to even be capable of consumption.

"But Ma-" Ramsay punched him in the stomach before he could continue his reasoning. Blood was naturally expelled from his mouth and he lay on the filthy floor praying no scars had re-opened on him.

"Did you just say but to me? Oh that's it. No food or water for the rest of the day." Ramsay's voice was layered with finality. Ramsay hated that word because it meant that someone was going to question his authority and Reek of all people had the balls to do it to him. Well not the balls per say but rather the audacity to speak up. He didn't mind if he had to bring him back to the basement and retrain him. That could provide a weeks worth of entertainment. Although it did mean the first time around he didn't work hard enough to break him and he was often so thorough with these things. 

Theon put the baby down on the ground and was on his knees before the Bolton yet again. It was a stupid mistake and half of him was yelling that he had fucked himself over. "Mercy! Have mercy! I need to feed her." Newborns were extremely vulnerable to everything but food was what she needed most of all. If she didn't get enough then no doubt she would suffer some serious medical complications. If it didn't get worse then that. 

Ramsay restricted the air flow to Theon's lungs and waited until it looked like he was about to pass out before he let him go. He had absolutely no intention of killing him but he wasn't afraid to get close to it if it meant he'd obey him. He came in close to his neck and breathed on it to get the same reaction he always got where Theon would get the worst shudder, it was always like the first time he had done it on the cross. "You should have thought of that before thinking of disobeying me. Stupid dog."

Ramsay annoyed at the talking back let him go and stormed off to go something else to take him mind off things, more then likely he was going to find a place to drink, bring home a girl and flay her living all while make him and the baby watch. He was left alone and once the door slammed shut once again and of course this was the thing that woke her up. This confirmed it was Ramsay's child. The girl's eyes were the same piercing blue of that of his masters. He had grown to fear those eyes and he didn't even stop to consider how he was being frightened by a harmless child.

It was only a moment after that the wailing began. Loud didn't even begin to describe the cries. It was like a jackhammer being used right next to his head, making his constant headache only slightly worse then it was. 

Theon's back collided with the stone wall and cradled the babe in his arms. Over the years he had seen Catelyn tending to babies so he tried his best to remember what she would do to calm the screeching Bran and Rickon. "Hu-ssh little on-e. I'm he-re." It didn't sound comforting as his voice was incapable of form a full sentence. 

She didn't stop crying but she did quiet down for a single second and that was more then enough time for him to say something that he hoped would work. He summoned all of his strength to speak in a full sentence. "You're go-ing to survive. I'm going to mak-ke sure of it."

He finally had a purpose other than to serve Ramsay.

He had something to live for.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had been 3 long, long days.

His routine for the past couple of days had been essentially wake up to crying, have Ramsay come down and give him breakfast, he would feed it to her she'd sleep for a bit while he went around doing his tasks and when it was night he'd try to sing her a lullaby. Ramsay came down to play with her too but it wasn't so much playing as it was more of a staring match between them until she fell asleep. Ramsay was annoyed by her cries and when he was annoyed Theon often ended up paying for it.

Theon woke up but not to the sound of the baby's wails due to hunger pains. He was always groggy and in pain but he got up none the less. He assumed that the baby was sleeping which was odd considering it seemed like any time he wanted to sleep she would be making a racket. Much like a young Bran Stark had done when he stayed over with the family. He'd always cry and out of everyone he was the only one who couldn't be able to get him to stop. Robb could do it fine and he always begged him for the secret of how to tame the child.

When he looked over at the small child the first thing he noticed how she was sleeping. Theon was thankful he had been able to get a good nights sleep because of it. He had been on the floor on the outside while he let her have his entire kennel space with what he supposed was the warming straw that had served as a bed. It was better then nothing and since she was small he had been able to make a small bed so he hoped it wouldn't have been too bad. 

His eyes began to open fully and when he got a closer look she wasn't moving at all. He began to go above his normal state of panic. Pulse racing he tried to look for any signs of movement or life in the small body. He placed two fingers onto the neck in hopes of finding a pulse but there was no small thumping underneath the skin. Another thing was how cold she was. Ice was running in her veins. 

"Please. Oh gods please move. No please, please, please, please." He did everything he could think of to try and get a response. It wasn't until the infants head tipped back in an unnatural manner that he realised it was too late. The child had died in his care. He hadn't been able to save her. He had let her starve.

He put the child on the ground while he proceeded to let out an anguished cry at his failure. Head tipped back he allowed himself to silently cry. Ramsay's child. He had failed his master in one of the worst ways possible and this would surely be the situation in which he would finally end his pathetic life. In a way this had been the best thing that happened to him here. He wouldn't have to live with the guilt of this.

In a sign of respect he wrapped the corpse in the now filthy pink blanket. He placed it in the middle of the room under the small pool of light that shone through the unfixed roof. From the light reflecting of her small face one would have mistaken her for being alive and living. There were so many emotions he felt he had trouble conveying them to Robb in his story. 

As he expected about half an hour later the door creaked open and Ramsay almost skipped in. Theon backed up against the wall as to not have to see Ramsay's reaction and see the scowl that appeared on his toothy grin. His whole body shuddered. Ramsay walked in and clearly didn't notice the scene on the floor before him.

"Where's my little girl? Little Rena Bolton. I was thinking we should stay with the R themed names. Roose, Ramsay, Reek and all others like that."

He was so caught up in his smugness he only noticed Theon far away from him a full minute after coming into the room. With his daunting eyes he finally cast them down onto the pink package that was so tightly wrapped. A sigh escape his lips while Theon's breaths were practically non-existent.

"Mas-s-ster I swear I tried-d-d to save h-her. I haven-n't eaten any-y-ything in 4 days. I've been giv-ing her all my food but it w-wasn't enough. She couldn't eat it." He had tried his hardest to ground up the food and mix it with water in order to make a poor imitation of baby food. It looked and tasted like slop which was inedible to the baby. She took one slurp and spat it back in his face. Apologising all he could do and pray that Ramsay saw it as humours as having a dead baby would make him laugh. Then again Theon couldn't tell what he would do seeing as it was his own child. Perhaps he really did care and perhaps he didn't. 

This was undoubtedly Ramsay's favourite part of toying with Reek. He got to put on a pretend performance and watch the look on his sunken, ruined face whenever he acted angry with him. And then whenever he did legitimately get annoyed it was just as sweet. His pet's his grovelling before him made him feel like a god and like most gods no mercy was ever shown.

He had to make sure he played the part of distressed father. Ramsay was quick to pick up the blanket and open up the covering to reveal the blue un-moving face. Theon saw an emotion on Rmasay's face he had never seen before. Mortified. "You killed my child Reek. I don't know if I can forgive you for this. You should have tried harder to feed her."

Ramsay had expected the child to die about a die ago but having her live for another day meant more torment for Theon. He would have surely bonded with the kid by now and have sworn to protect it. A most delicious situation for him. He once more acted to be enraged with Theon and he ate up the fear he brought. He cared nothing for the little brat while it seemed that Theon had suffered a devastation.

Theon legs turned to cinder blocks and he dropped down to the floor. Anguish was washing over him and all he wanted was for Ramsay to kill him now for what he had done. Or what he thought he had done. Every time he threatened to kill Rickon and Bran those were just poor taste jokes but now that he had actually killed a child he felt the bile rising in his throat. "Please! I'm begging you! I didn't- I tried- I thought-!"

In Theon's mind everything was his fault. Every time Ramsay flayed the victim he was always there and it was always somehow Theon's fault. Mentally his self-esteem had been degraded to such a point that he actual believed himself to be the cause of all their deaths.

"Get up." He yelled at him in a vicious voice. Theon did so yet reluctantly. As he was steadying himself a hand collided with his head and he was forced back down onto the floor. He deserved it of course just as he deserved everything else. The bile that he been building up was of course heaved up and left on a mess on the floor, Ramsay kicking him for making a further mess.

"There is one way you can make it up to me." The figure stood right above him and Theon expected a lot of things but for Ramsay to offer him a hand up was not one of them. He didn't have a say in the matter so he took it and he was hoisted back up.

Desperate for forgiveness he was willing to do anything to make it up to Ramsay. "How?"

Ramsay halted the assault with his fist just hanging above his face, Theon in the process of bracing himself for the impact.

"The dogs need feeding and I forgot to get food." Ramsay had planned this all very carefully. He hadn't originally thought of bringing a baby into this but he had been out in the park setting up bear traps for children to step in and he simply got the inspiration. While he was taking the baby girl form her crib he actually saw a small boy with his leg hanging on by a thread, clearly thanks to his little present he had left in the park.

Theon could just about get what he was implying but verbal confirmation was needed. "How will I feed them master?"

Ramsay smirked and said in a voice that was jokey in every way. "You have good meat in your hand. Use it."

There was madness. And of course there was insanity. What Ramsay was asking him to do was not these things. Above all else it was monstrous. All the things that had happened before were bad but doing this was the worst thing by far. The action couldn't even leave his lips because all was said with his eyes.

Danger blared in Ramsay's eyes when Theon didn't do what he was told the second he was told to do it. His arms flailed and he scrambled to get up taking the child up with him.

One by one Ramsay went around the cages and opened them up, the locks springing open yet the dogs remaining inside waiting for their commands. Theon was tempted to keep the girl close to his chest so the ravenous dogs couldn't get close to her but if not the dogs would surly get to him as well.

"Don't look away when they do it. You need your lesson." Ramsay tipped Theon's head up and he didn't dare move it when Ramsay's hand was pulled away. He laid the child back down and stepped back. He had to try and prepare himself for what was coming next.

All it took for the savagery to begin was Ramsay to whistle once. All ten of his bitches then attacked at once and the had about the same amount of mercy that Ramsay did.

There was no worst part. All of this was equally horrific to him. The sounds of the flesh being pulled away and the crunching of the bone and the sight of all the blood combined made for a horrific display. The smell was just as bad as it was a dirty metallic stench which filled the air rather quickly.

Ramsay had a simply smirk on his face. What he had failed to tell Theon was that it wasn't actually his and Cateyln's baby and rather it was Roose and Walda's. He had been alone in the house with it for one day already and he was ready to get rid of it. Both because it was annoying and Roose was bonding with it.

He would have to make sure that his dad thought that Walda was involved in another incident involving the Night King's child kidnapping ring. That way he could be sure he wouldn't be expose for the murder of his half-brother. Roose had put up with Ramsay for over 20 years and he didn't want to screw it up now.

Ramsay had been so caught up in his plots and schemes that he didn't notice Theon's hand shaping into a fist. For the first time in months he was angry at Ramsay. Of course he wasn't going to punch him but had he not been a broken mess of a man he would have punched him in the face and then fed him to the dogs. Almost for a split second a shadow of Theon's personality had crept in. He was immobilised by his fear and hatred. His self-hatred that it.

He was too cowardly to stop this. He should be punching those dogs in the face and getting them to stop. Always on the inside he was screaming but now on the inside it was a screech that could be compared to that of a banshees.

Ramsay sighed and this scared whatever personality he had gained back into submission. He could see the innocent girl being hurt and he really wanted to help but the invisible collar on his neck was choking him tighter than ever before. He wouldn't, No, he couldn't allow himself to go through the torture again.

When the dogs were done there was a mess all over the cobblestones. There would have been more blood had the dogs not been so eager to lap it all up like it was iced water on a hot day. It was like she was no different to a cooked t-bone steak

"Well that was fun but I suppose you'd better get this clean up. You know where the bin bags are." He walked out as if nothing had happened. As if he hadn't just watched supposedly his child being ripped apart. He should have known he'd be cold but then again Theon knew that Ramsay's mind worked in odd way.

Cleaning up was worse than any depraved sexual act he had made him do. Normally he wouldn't pass any remarks cleaning up after Ramsay as he didn't know the victim but this was Catelyn's own flesh and blood and he had let her die and she wouldn't even get a proper burial. Even if it had been in an unmarked grave in the forest that would have been better than this.

Ramsay threw some cleaning products at him and left him to his own devices along with a sturdy black bin bag for anything that could have possibly remained.

The only ruminate of his previous life was now in tiny pieces both figuratively and literally. His light had been taken away and once again he was plunged into the bleakness. He had tried to remain strong in the hopes of outliving Ramsay long enough for him to be found but now he had truly accepted that he was never getting out. Anything good that happened was just an evil trick in disguise waiting to pull the rug from underneath him.

His life was nothing.

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Back in real life the smell was coming back and attacking Theon so badly that he only made it a couple of steps of the sofa before he collapsed down towards the floor and emptied the contents of his stomach. Once all of the paella had been expelled onto the floor in an acidic smelling mess he gasped for air and tried to stop thinking about. Half of his brain remembering while the other half thinking he was going to be stuck for causing yet another mess.

By the end of Theon's sorry tale he had left Robb in a complete state of shock. All the things made sense now. His reluctance to meet up with Catelyn, fear of being hated by the family and the case of the child being mutilated by a bear trap in the park. He was down in a flash and helping Theon get the rest of it out so he could feel better. After he honestly began to wonder how Theon's mental state hadn't decayed at that very moment. Robb may have been physically stronger but there was no doubt in his mind that his loves mental strength was beyond any sort of comparison. He knew he would have broken beyond repair if the situation had happened to him.

Despite the horrific nature of the story there was one thing that he didn't quite understand and it didn't match with the story at all. "Why did you think you were a murderer?" He asked when he was sure he was done ruining his floor.

"I should have tried harder to save her. I shouldn't have let her get torn to fucking shreds as dog meat. I should have stolen food from the kitchen or something. I was so scared of Ramsay hurting me I didn't put her above my own needs. I was so selfish."

This hit Robb hard. "It's awful but it isn't your fault. You starved yourself for days! You did everything you could for her." Robb didn't see how on earth he could be calling himself a criminal for this. Even if he didn't believe it he had done nothing wrong. Touching was still something they had to work on but he put a hand carefully on his back and gently stroked it as opposed to patting it as even the lightest pat could be translated to being hit in Theon's mind.

Theon sat up and coughed away the remaining rice that lingered from the food. The temperature of the room dropped from Theon's perspective as he knew what he had to bring up with Robb next. "There were other things too…"

That was defiantly an understatement. Almost every day there had been something that would make even the toughest of people cringe in pain. Whether it was due to the trauma and his trying to repress it or the literally blunt force trauma to the head he had suffered he couldn't remember all of it.

Robb quieted his panicked voice gently. "Don't think about that now. You can tell me another time. You've come back to me and made me the happiest man on earth." Theon couldn't handle how sweet it was but he was still trying to convince himself that it was genuine. He had this problem before but only know he knew it was real. It was just being accustomed to receiving praise on a daily basis.

"Robb. How did I deserve you?" Theon asked quietly. He felt a little better knowing he hadn't betrayed the Stark family but he still felt like he didn't deserve it.

"I love you." Robb could see how parts of old Theon in there. It was just a shame he had to listen to a story about infanticide beforehand.

There was a silence in the recovery time for Theon to final get over the icky feeling that he always got whenever he was sick. In the end his head ended up simply residing in Robb's lap and Robb gently stroked his fingers through his hair. He didn't tense which he guessed was a sign of him improving.

"I'm scared." Theon said.

Robb shot him a look of confusion and instantly removed all hands from near Theon's body in case he meant that he was scared his touch. "Why?"

"I've never been to a trial before." Theon said hoping that Robb would be able to catch onto what he was trying to say. Robb caught on but was nonetheless still shocked at his decision. It was a hell of a big step and after the story he had just heard he feared what might happen to his mental state if he had to see Ramsay again.

"Theon are you sure you want to do this?" There had to be absolute certainty before they could even begin.

"I'm sure. I'm sick of him controlling me every waking second and every second I sleep. I just want him to go away." It had taken a long time for him to finally admit it but he wanted to move on from all of this. The only way he could was if he faced Ramsay one last time and ended this. Yara told him he needed to get the salt and iron back into his blood and this was the sure-fire way to do it.

Robb smiled. Theon had a simple blazing glow surrounding him in this moment that showed he was truly ready to do this. "I'm proud of you." These was the most important words he would ever speak to Theon. It was what he needed to hear but it was the honest to god truth. Theon let the praise get to him and his face turned a little bit pink. He hadn't felt blush in such a long time his mind wasn't sure if he should panic or not.

"How am I going to prepare for this?" Theon didn't know the first thing about trials, prosecutions and all of those legal terms. 

Robb was used to giving evidence but he wasn't actually sure about how to describe how it was for a witness to testify. "Normally they have small practices of questions that might come up. The person who represents Ramsay will try and throw you. We won't let him."

Theon nodded in understanding. He guessed that the real thing would be nothing like the way the media portrayed it.

"We'll get Sansa to help. She's got her degree in law and diplomacy." He suggested as she was probably the most suited to help in this situation. Though he had no doubts that Jon would try to get in on it seeing as he had been to more trials and therefore he felt entitled to help and take over when clearly Sansa was better suited to the task but Robb would just wait and see how things played out. We'll do this together. Now and always Theon.

Theon's smile stopped and as each memory passed more and more tears came falling down. Robb just did his best to support him until Theon grabbed him and brought him into a bear like hug. They both knew they had passed the time for helplessness. Now was the time for justice.

He would be going to trial against Ramsay Bolton together with Robb.

"Now and always."


	22. The Confrontation Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theon and Sansa have a bonding moment while Robb tries talking with not much luck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise for the delay. I was on holiday in London for the LFCC and I got to meet some of the game of Thrones cast including my faves Gemma Whelan (Yara) and Pilou Asbæk (Euron)! Now I am back and ready to write more. I hope that this chapter is satisfactory.

It was hard to believe the trial was only two weeks away.

Theon being the centre of attention as everyone was doing their part in order to help him prepare for the inevitable reunion between him and his tormentor. Theon acted on the outside like he wasn't ready but trying yet deep down he knew it was pointless as nothing could prepare him for the mental devastation he was going to face in a fortnight.

Just as he predicated Jon and Sansa were both trying to help them in their own ways. It wasn't as bitter as he expected but even someone as blind as Aemon Targaryen could see that the tension was there. It hadn't erupted yet but sooner or later it would. Robb just supposed it was a good thing that Jon had gone to Daenerys, Ellaria and Yara's for the week, along with Ygritte of course to make sure he didn't get into any trouble.

On the side Arya had been helping him with self-defence training in case anything went down. She taught him everything that Jaqen had taught her, even down to how to imitate others in case he needed to. Theon didn't exactly understand how it all worked but he understood enough so that if he needed to he could knock a person flat on their face. Robb didn't exactly approve but he supposed it would help both of them feel a lot safer.

Among all of this tension was Sansa who was content with where she was right now. She was working at Margaery's flower shop, Growing Strong and life had been pretty good. Theon was back safely, Joffery was dead and she, for once, was in a safe and stable relationship. Once the whole unpleasant business with Ramsay was over then she could finally say she was truly content.

Sansa had been gratefully been given the day off by her employer and 'flower crown girlfriend' so she was spending it at home in her favorite pajamas and her plan for the entire day was to essentially watch her favorite films while eating whatever the hell she wanted simply because she could. She was expecting everyone to be out of the house with either their jobs, hospital appointments or more police work.

As she bounced past the kitchen with a fluffy blanket in hand a plush toy in the shape of a wolf that smelled of roses courtesy of Margaery, aka, the best girlfriend who ever lived.

Sansa pried in and watched Theon obviously making something in the kitchen. A little disappointed she wouldn't get the house to herself but it was someone she didn't mind and could talk to easily so she supposed it wasn't too bad. He was obviously making something of ease.

"Hey Theon…What are you doing?" She asked.

A sharp 'fucking hell' was muttered underneath his breath as the sudden appearance of the girl had startled him, naturally in his Iron Born accent. Contact was something Theon and his doctor still had to work on. Slowly but surely he was told.

She offered him and bowl of cereal but he declined seeing as the smell was physically making him feel a great spell of nausea. Then again after this morning events with Robb he knew he would be feeling sickly for the rest of the day. He always did and Sansa should consider herself lucky that he was in a talking mood.

Theon's taste for things had declined dramatically. Every time he put something in his mouth he expected it to taste like dampened sawdust mixed with the grainy taste of raw oats. Thanks to the miracle that was known as science and the joys of medication he had been able to keep it down but the fact he didn't have to ask for it still got him.

There were days where Theon would just wake up and be in his shell. Robb would go into the main bedroom and Theon's still skinny body would be shaking and the only sound that would be gotten out of him was whimpers and pained cries. The medication did stop the physical hurting but his trauma had reached a point where he physical could still feel it as though it was happening right in that moment.

After both of them were feeling normal enough they took a seat on the sofa and talked.

"I thought you and Robb were heading out today." Sansa inquired as Robb had clearly told her that he and Theon would be going to a restaurant in order to get him accustomed to the sensation of actually leaving the house.

Where did Theon even begin to describe what happened? "I didn't…We tried…" He didn't really want to worry her by explaining the situation. He felt like he was being rude by burdening her with his own problems but she knew it was beneficial to have a shoulder to lie on or in this case cry on.

Sansa gave him a moment to breathe before he continued. Of course it was difficult and she couldn't tell him to stop panicking as telling someone to stop having a panic attack was about as useful as having a shield the size of a pin, it wasn't exactly going to be useful to him.

"Take it slow."

He deeply breathed in. "We we're going to head out but before we left Robb wanted me to try a trial run of the actual trial. He showed me a picture of Ramsay because I'd have to see him on the day and…" He assumed that the young girl would be able to fill in the rest of what happened. The mug shot photo was still deeply imbedded in his head. It was almost as if Ramsay's eyes were staring at him through the paper.

"How long ago?" She wanted to know how long Robb had been gone so she knew how long to kick his ass for when he came home. What he had done was essentially abandoned him during a crisis. She was sure there was a good enough reason for him to leave but it just seemed like such an asshole move that she couldn't let go unpunished.

"It's been two hours. I've only stopped crying now. Robb said he needed to go back to work or something. He probably can't stand the sight of me."

Sansa didn't think she could sympathise with Theon more. It was like she was talking to a clone of herself which had the same amount of self-deprivation. Of course over time she had help and for Theon he had only had a couple of months' time to begin his long journey of recovery. Oh how she wished his recovery could happen as well as hers had. True she did have moments, especially when Bran accidently triggered her but they were getting less frequent.

"Oh…" She would give Robb an earful later about leaving Theon for work but at the moment he would do the best thing for him. Listen.

"Are you okay?"

The answer was obvious but there was always that obligation to ask. Sansa moved towards him carefully when she saw the small shakes evolve into full twitches and head jerks to the side as if he needed to look around and make sure no one was going to surprise him by popping out form a corner.

Exactly as expected some of his Reek mannerisms came back. The rapid blinking of his eyes and seven fingers inflicting a minor pain onto himself by scratching the back of his own pain as it gave him a small control. Before Sansa could stop him he yelled rather angrily in her face.

"I'm trying so hard to keep it together. I feel like I'm breaking every time." He hadn't exactly reached the point of crying but it was clear he was breaking.

Sansa knew exactly the emotions that were going through his head as she had been through the same process and the cycle never became new. There was the first feelings of fear, anger, the devoid feeling of anything remotely happy and then there was the worst part. The nothingness. Just being numb to anything. From the way Theon was she could guess he was currently in the devoid of happiness stage.

The situation had improved after a while but it had been at least two years since Joffery happened and she still couldn't think about the brutal thrashings. The memories had grown too painful to bare. She bit her lips and decided to take away from the moment of weakness and replace it with something more.

"Do you know about me and Joffery?" This was asked as gently as she could.

Anything before the torture was ablur to him in all honesty but he would try for Sansa. "I know you were dating him. He was bad."

To be honest he had sort of lost track of all relationships and just assumed that Sansa was focusing on her job.

"Do you want to know how I coped at first?"

Theon had no idea that there was actually a trick to being able to process his thoughts without going through the sheer panic and terror. He dropped to his knees and begged for the answer. Sansa looked down at him awkwardly for a moment before helping him back up onto his healing whipped feet.

"How? Please tell me I'm desperate." He wanted Robb to see that he could be okay.

"I didn't. I was so scared to do anything. You seem like you're doing okay so far. Just keep on letting people help and don't isolate yourself."

Theon could have mistaken this for a sick joke but since it was coming from Sansa he knew that she was being sincere. She hadn't seen the true extent of how broken he really was and he really wished that she didn't have to but the sentence had been too much for him to bare.

"I'm not fucking okay Sansa! I'm putting on an act for Robb. I don't want to see him sad. I'm trying to get back to fucking normal but I can't get over this! Every day I think he's waiting for me while when I sleep. I'm back in the fucking room. I can't-I don't!"

It was at this moment he crumpled to the floor and once more became a sobbing mess. Sansa could tell he was going into full panic attack mode and was hell bent on being the most comforting person to help bring him back to reality.

"Theon you're home. You're not with Ramsay. You're with me and Robb and mum and everyone else who loves you." Her panic attacks were different to his and his seemed definitely more sever.

Theon was gone. He was thrust back into the kennels and under Ramsay's grasp. "N-o-o! Lea-ve me alo-ne. I'm so-rry Mas-ter."

Sansa began to panic as well. She was so used to other people calming her down that she had no idea how to stop another person from going through the same experience. She began humming a well-known melody that was often played in the city's office whenever they knew that Cersei Lannister was going to be there as most people knew it to make her happy whenever she heard it. The light of the seven she believed it was called.

Theon didn't want to hear the beginning of this song as Sansa heard a groan come from him along with more sobs. Clearly the association of the Lannisters and the Bolton's wasn't doing well with a fresh mindset Sansa changed the approach she was taking. Instead of something related to the Lannisters she'd try something else. She believed this one was associated with the Targaryens.

The Winds of Winter seemed more appropriate. She began to hum this one instead and it was working a lot better. She knew it was a song that evoked strength and a change in personality. He could look up to the sky and think he was no longer under his control. It had played when Daenerys made the brave move to come over to live in the same area as Yara did.

The melody registered in his head and the panic was interrupted for a second. He allowed her to continue it while his mind did the rest of the work and allowed his fears to settle and become non-existent.

He was thankful but words were something he couldn't form at the moment so he let her continue as slowly but surly his words of fear stopped and he could form a coherent sentence. After about 15 minutes he was able to ask her a question. "How did you know that would work?"

"It's what Margaery did when I'd feel Joffery and his men beating me. She'd sing the stupidest little songs and hum little melodies and it's like I'd be brought back to reality."

The worst part was that it reminded him of his mother. Alyanns. She was a sweet woman and a wonderful mother, until she lost her mind. After going through years of Balon then the divorce and then having her only living son go missing without a trace it soon became too heavy a burden to bear. She went back to live in her old family home in the Ten Towers. She wasn't allowed to leave and visit him after she had gone through a pretty bad mental breakdown and her hair had turned almost the same shade as Theon's had. However it was clear that he remebered every second they had spent together.

As the memory faded Theon gave a small "oh" sound before he unfurled himself from the curled up position and sat up. He couldn't believe that had happened.

No more words were spoken. They didn't have to be however.

It was enough that they enjoyed the silence and the comfort it provided.

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Robb had done many a crazy thing.

Visiting Ramsay Bolton in the holding cells was among the craziest however. Part of his mind told him this was an idiotic idea, one of the worst he's ever had.

The two of them were separated by a small glass window pane and they used a phone to communicate. Ramsay was sitting not now Robb expected. In his mind he portrayed Ramsay as most killers do with either a hunched back or with a slouched posture that ruined his spine. Ramsay was sitting on the edge of his seat, like an animal who had just heard his owner parking into the drive way and was waiting for him to come in.

"How have you been doing?" He asked as if they were old friends.

Robb chose to remain silent but his inner voice was telling him to yell back. He didn't think he could answer that without banging on the glass and yelling profanity in his face. 

"Well seeing as your silent I'll tell you how I've been doing after you broke my nose in several places." His voice was below zero degrees while saying this. Then again he wasn't going to pretend to be warm while talking about the personal injuries inflicted onto him. 

"I've been doing well. It only has 5 stiches." He knew that Robb was almost defiantly observing his handiwork on his face. Ramsay had been doing well in custody so far as he had been forced into isolation as any cell mate they gave him ended up with a fork in their eye or having one of their toe nails plucked out. For the sake of everyone in the prison he was placed into isolation and was using his one visit of the week with Robb despite his father advising him otherwise.

Having enough of Robb's silence he knew what to say to provoke a reaction from him. He hated it when people ignored him, most notably due to the lack of love and affection as a child seeing as he had only one parent who wasn't the best at showing love for anything. The coldness passed through blood like a genetic disorder. Then again the Bolton's had always had a long and lustrous history of violence and mental destabilisation. 

"How's Reek doing?" He wasted no time getting to talk about his creation. For the brief moment he had roommates he annoyed them by talking about how much he loved his Reek and when they told him to shut up about it they paid the price. 

Robb's mental promise to himself not to lose his temper was broken at the mention of that filthy disgusting name. At home no one was allowed to say the word anymore, instead they would say it smelt bad or it stank but never Reek. "You do not get to call him that anymore. And you sure as hell won't do it during the trial."

This was new information to Ramsay. The image of seeing Theon quaking in fear as he approached the stand and his shaking voice. The wondrous things he would mouth to him and watch as he repeated all the disgusting and degrading things that he made him do and all the things he did to him and then at the end watch him breakdown in front of the audience. Ramsay was many things, a showman was one of those main things. This was all just a show and they were playing parts.

"Ohhh I pushed a button. There's something so much fun about button pushing don't you think? Seeing how people will react. Like how Reek is going to react to me on the day of my trial."

Robb remained calm for a second as the storm was brewing inside him though his clenched fist was saying otherwise. 

"He's going to get you put away for life." He was sure that Theon was living proof that would keep him behind lock and key for thousands of years to come.

It would have taken scientists many years to develop something quite as smug as Ramsay was in this moment. A cold hand was pressed against the glass and he dragged it down leaving a couple of white lines. "Not life Robb Stark. 10 years at best. Even then I can always get out early. And if you think I'm staying at this prison you're wrong. I'm off to the Citadel mental hospital. True they don't have the best food but I think it'll be nice to have room with a view, overlooking the spire and old town. What do you think?"

This shook Robb. To say with such confidence that he was going to get away from this clean was something he had never seen often. He tried to form a sentence to somehow come back from that one.

"We have overwhelming evid-." Robb trying to not let himself slip up was remaining calm and sticking to the facts but Ramsay was determined to get the final word in.

"But do you have ties to everyone in town?" Ramsay retorted back in his face.

Ramsay's entire existence wouldn't be possible without his father and his name and he used his that name to make himself have influences all over. He wasn't as connected as his father was but it was enough to make sure he could bend enough arms and apply enough pressure to get him out of any situation that he found himself in.

"You can't-!" He was interrupted yet again.

"I can. They'll send me to a mental hospital which I can easily fake my way out of and then it'll just be a matter of getting my pet back and moving to a different country."

Robb's hand was clenching so hard around the phone it actually caused small nail indentation marks. Considering it was a black plastic phone that was quite a feat on his part.

"You will never hurt him again." Robb would kill him before he let him go near him. The thought of what would happen to Theon if he was re-traumatized was unthinkable. They had only just found him in a half broken state and he couldn't survive another round.

"How can you be sure?" Ramsay was borderline on wanting to tell him the entire set up for his plan but he simply wanted to give him a small taste of what was to come. Robb took a good long stare at his face. While he felt nothing looking at his ugly mug it had been able to strike pure terror into Theon.

Ramsay looked at Robb's face and thought little of it. All he saw was someone who didn't deserve to own a Reek. His Reek. Ramsay also perceived that Robb had gentle eyes behind that anger and he guessed since it had been a couple of months he no doubt had an influence on him, purifying his thoughts with ideas of him being loved and freedom. All of these were disgusting notions in Ramsay's head. All the things Ramsay was planning for Robb were much too horrible to discuss out loud but in his head they were probably the most evil idea he had ever conducted.

They were playing a mind game and so far Ramsay was winning but Robb hadn't been able to figure that out yet. Or simply he didn't want to figure it out. Ramsay was always planning which made him unpredictable and very, very dangerous.

"I won't let you." Robb couldn't let him get the better of him and confuse his with suspicion and LIES. Or at least what he hoped were lies.

"You won't let me. What about my boys? Surely he's talked about them." He said through a smirking face.

"Fuck…"

Robb had royally fucked up. He had completely forgot that Theon had mentioned there being others along with the Bolton himself. They had looked through Ramsay's contact list but it was a bunch of fake names and numbers in order to misdirect the police. They had tried to find them but to no avail and Theon wasn't aware they hadn't been arrested, Robb intended to keep it that way. He had simply assumed that with the leader in custody they would bail on him.

"Who are they?" Such a generic question required an even more generic answer in Ramsay's mind.

"Not telling." Much like a child he wasn't going to tell him anything much to his dismay. He stuck out his tongue and proceeded to lick the glass which got a couple of stares from the guards but they knew he was just being creeping in general and not doing anything harmful.

The pure idea of having to retrain him was enough to satisfy him. He would get him back and it was only a matter of time. A matter of two weeks. A matter of the trial. He also had to repress every snicker as he acted like he would actually be going to the trial, there wasn't of course.

They couldn't have a trial if the criminal was to somehow disappear before it finished.

The courtroom was going to be a game of chess and Ramsay had planned all of the steps he would make, dependant on what the other players did. Most people often fell into his traps but everything had worked out so far so he didn't see any reason why this should be any different.

Robb took out a small note pad and a pen. He was trying to write down anything and see if it could help. Ramsay had refused to talk to anyone else but Robb knew he simply wouldn't be able to resist talking to the soon to be husband of the man he tortured for over a year.

Robb knew he was leading him into a mind trap like a lamb is lead to the slaughter house but it was impossible given his Stark personality. Emotion above logic.

A bit of time passed and it want in a bit of a repetitive pattern. The Stark would ask a question and the Bolton would have a smart ass response for it. Ramsay, getting bored with the police procedural questions, decided to inject a little bit of fun into the situation. "Has he told yet?" He asked with a genuine curiosity.

Robb's eyes rolled putting down the note pad and the pen. "Told me what?" Robb scoffed knowing that he was going to say something repulsive as he always had.

A chuckled escaped his chapped and slightly busted lip. "How he felt when he was mine. When I was peeling away his skin, when I was taking away his manhood, screaming when my boys pinned him down and let my hands roll over all over his body? Stroking all those wonderful scars I made." He said it real slow, like if he said each word individually and took pauses it would have a harsher burn on his mind. He was right as he predicted.

It would be right to say that everyone including the guards sensed the drop in the temperature in the room when Robb's face twisted with loathing and disgust.

Without any guard noting Robb made his hand snake down to the holster on his belt but more importantly the loaded gun that was resting there. He knew that he could so easily do it by simply shooting the glass once to break it and then again so he could place a hole right between his eyes. This bastard had no right whatsoever to be speaking in this revolting manner.

It was at times like this he thought that when should just fuck the whole process of court and lawyers and just put a bullet in this scums brain. Everyone would be happier for it and he doubted that even the closest of people to him would miss him if he was gone, even Roose. He knew that a sentence worked better for most people but Ramsay Bolton was not most people. For the one time in his life he felt like someone truly deserved death.

He didn't show this side to any of his family but by god was this stressing him out. His nails were now almost all pink and no white and every time he looked in a mirror his eyes really did show his tiredness. He hadn't been getting much sleep with knowing Ramsay's trial coming up and seeing Theon in pain didn't help. While helping him was the right thing to do it really did have an impact seeing him always being on the verge of breakdowns. It was a constant reminder of his failure. If he had to pick the main emotion it would have been a tie between guilt and self-hatred.

However if asked he was always doing absolutely okay.

If he stayed here any longer then he knew he would end up getting in trouble and no one in the family needed that right now. Robb stormed out and seemingly at the same time the guards came to take Ramsay back to his isolated cell. They had learned that they couldn't have him with other inmates as he was top frightening even for them to handle.

Ramsay's laughter sounded like that of a psychotic maniacs as he was being dragged away. Everyone in the building could hear him and it wasn't until Robb was in the car park that the ringing was finally out of his ears for good.

The new game had just begun.

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Robb hadn't intended to be out for so long. It had stuck 7 in the afternoon so he had been out for a grand total of 5 hours. He guessed that he spent a whole two hours in the prison, thirty minutes talking to Ramsay and then discussing what he said with the rest of the team as he had defiantly had something planned.

Having being exhausted he went into the house and saw a sight that woke him up a little bit. Theon was firmly sound asleep on the sofa clearly having passed out with Sansa's plush toy in hand while Sansa was busy texting on her phone

Robb's footsteps were what got her alerted to his presence in the room and she was up like a shot. It may have only been early in the evening but she was ready to knock him on his as but quietly as to not wake the sleeping kraken.

"Where the hell have you been Robb?" She scathed as to not raise her voice.

Robb saw Sansa's eyes firing up at him so it was probably best not to annoy her. Telling Sansa that he went to see Ramsay probably wasn't the best idea so a hard day at work was probably the best way to go.

"I didn't mean to be gone for so long. Getting everything sorted and that. How has he been doing?" He could guess from the copious amounts of tissues and the empty ice cream tub that it had been rough. He could see the error of him leaving like that but it wasn't like he had an option in his profession.

Sansa looked over to the helpless body. She could tell Robb about their little conversation later or perhaps she shouldn't burden him with it but for now she had another thing to tell him first. The truth.

"Robb he can't go up. I know you've been trying to simulate a courtroom but on the real day he's going to break. Seeing that bastard in flesh and blood." The breakdown had honestly scared and the severity of it all and she knew that if he was to face the cause of his trauma he would break.

"He said he wanted to and we have to let him get his justice." Robb being a police officer always saw the delight on the victims faces whenever their attacker got punished but then again he could also see the crushing disappointment if they got of free. After his little prison visit he would have to make sure security was doubled and everyone's eyes peeled for Ramsay's boys at all time.

"I hope he's ready." Sansa knew that she could hope all she wanted but it would come of no use on the actual day. That all boiled down to him.

"He will be" Robb felt confident but in reality he had no idea. He was always an optimist until he was proven wrong. Yes for the past moths during Theon's captivity he had been a total pessimist but Theon brought hope back to him and he wasn't ready to lose it again.

Both of them looked back to the sleeping figure and prayed that inside that skull of his he would be able to put himself together in order to get through it. Robb was sure of him but Sansa not such. The thing about the two siblings was more often than not Sansa was always right.

Onto the trial.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: The trial of Ramsay Bolton begins and ends.


	23. The Court Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the day of Ramsay's trial but it does not go as planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooooooow 100k words! Thank you so much for the wonderful readers and people who have left me all kinds of great support throughout. For you support please enjoy the longest chapter of the Iron Chain Game which will hopefully give a lot of satisfaction.

The car was utterly devoid of any sound. Robb expected it to be this way consider what was going to happen within the next couple of hours.

Theon was fidgeting about and his did a variety of things all at once. He did the reoccurring action of biting his finger nails which had only had a little chance to grow back since his last anxiety attack but he was mixing it up now by having quick glances around the car and was muttering calming words to himself underneath his breath.

Sansa seemed preoccupied with her thought so Robb took decisive action in making sure he felt as comfortable as possible.

Robb took his hand and brought it up to his own heart, an unusual action but calming nonetheless. Theon was instantly snapped out of whatever trance he was in and met Robb's eyes. He was filled with a strange confidence that he felt he didn't have to fake.

"You're going to be fine." Robb had said this a million times but he would say it a million more if it meant Theon would be somewhat happy. Theon wanted to believe this so badly but they wouldn't know anything until the time came. He remained in reality but his mind still harboured that miniscule bit of doubt.

"How do you know?" With all the prep they had done he was sure that he would do fine but he couldn't know how he'd react to actually seeing him. Taking into account how the picture had affected him it was a half and half outcome. A small chill crept down his mildly deformed spine. It was a problem that doctors only noticed after he had been discharged and they came to the conclusion that it had been his time upon the X which had done the most damage.

Robb gently stroked his cheek and planted a small kiss on his forehead. "Because I'm here to support you. I believe you can do this."

Kissing had become a hell of a lot easier since his therapy sessions had been helping. Robb and Theon had also spent every moment practically joined at the hip so they had grown comfortable around each other. Theon was now able to fully distinguish Robb's lips from Ramsay's though it was hard to forget what those chapped lips did all over him.

A pink hue spread across his face which he tried to hide. "Thanks. You always know what to say."

Robb gained a small smile which did a small part in relieving his tension. The biggest factor in relieving his tension was the fact he had prepared for anything and everything Ramsay might have planned.

There wasn't an area of the court that wasn't crawling with guards. After the conversation that he had with Ramsay he had ensured that they could get the maximum amount of security they could. They had managed to get a whole 15 other members of security, not as much as Robb would have liked but honestly it was better than getting nothing.

They had been driving for at least an hour now and finally they had pulled up to the court house. Theon couldn't wait to get back out and get a good helping of fresh air. The Stark family all piled out of the car. Catelyn getting out first, then Bran and the rest followed after. In total 5 of the Starks were going to the trial to support Theon along with Meera and Jon. Rickon was too young to be a witness for such horrors so he was staying with Bryndon Tully, Cat's older brother who Rickon insisted on calling the Catfish instead of the Blackfish.

They were on the steps of the courthouse. It was as grand as they had expected. The trial would have been held in the Sept of Balor but that old building had succumb to a terrible accident involving a whole 72 barrels somehow caught on fire during the day of Cersei Lannister's trial. Now it was being held in on the rooms in the Red Keep. It should suffice just nicely.

Theon being distracted by its grandeur. After being confined to Ramsay's kennels for a year anything with a window looked heavenly but this was something else. Of course he had been here several times before but he had a whole new appreciation for it now. Just to be sure he was in reality he ran a hand against the red bricks and felt its rough texture.

Robb and Sansa were walking behind him and they watched as he awkwardly rubbed the wall. To anyone else he would have seemed like a weirdo but to them they knew what was going on inside of his mind. After a couple of seconds and his mind was sure he was ready to go on inside.

Sansa couldn't let Theon go in just yet however. She grabbed his arm and waited for him to get over the small shock of having contact.

"I know you can do this. Nothing bad is going to happen to you. I promise." She said. It was her personal mission to see that every abuser got locked up or mate a much worse fate. She had her own way of dealing with things and while Robb was sure everything was going to go smoothly she knew better. People like Bolton were always smarter than people like Robb. Fortunately Sansa was often underestimated so that gave her the upper hand.

Theon nodded but his eyes didn't leave the floor. If Ramsay had planned something and managed to get a light sentence from the court he was going to work nonstop until he saved up enough money to move to another country. In the back of his mind he wondered if that would be enough to stop the Bolton from tracking him down, the curiosity of how far he would go to get him back was terrifying but fascinating at the same time. He didn't seem like he would back down easily but then again after this whole affair he doubted that "Dear old father" Roose would want anything to do with Ramsay once this trail was over so that meant that his funds would become non-existent, good news for Theon.

Sansa's sunny smile left him with a good feeling. If she was feeling chipper about the outcome of this then his might as well try and be happy as well. He could be happy for her. How she was able to be happy even after Joffery still eluded him.

They walked in and it seemed quite enough. Robb guessed that it was still early.

Theon looked on into the room. "So this is where we part ways until the trial is over…Are you sure you can't come in with me?" He wanted to be sure.

"You'll be okay. I can't. I have to give my testimony first."

Robb would have to recount the night he broke into Ramsay's house and found Theon on the brink of losing himself completely. No doubt the fact he had gone into the hell house without a warrant was going to be brought up against him. He had been told to counteract that statement by saying how his action saved Theon's life and was able to catch the killer. He guessed that by the end of the trial he would get at least a small suspension but he could live with having 2 weeks of from work.

He would get a thrashing on the stand but it would be nothing compared to what Theon was going to be exposed to. The people who defended the defendant always were cruel to the victims when questioning them. They were ruthless and had no problem trying to manipulate them when they were weak. His only hope was that all of those practice lessons were going to pay off.

They walked in and Robb took him to the place he would stay until he was called to the stand. Robb went to go be seated with Catelyn and the Stark clan. He talked with Jon first of course to make sure everything was in its place.

Once the two had checked everything was okay they took their seats and awaited as more and more people flooded into the room. The chatter began to get louder and louder and the time was approaching.

The trial of Ramsay Bolton was about to begin.

Robb knew that the trial was going to have some corruption involved but he didn't think it would be so bloody obvious.

This corruption had become evident when the judge overseeing the trial came out of the room. Tywin Lannister came out in his official uniform. He had enough power that they didn't force him to wear those ridiculous looking robes or even one of those wigs. His commanded sheer power and no one dared to question whatever decision he made. He was seething corroded corruption too.

All the proceedings began as they expected. They were introduced and all sworn in. In order for Theon not to get spooked beforehand he was being kept in a side room, Guards had been stationed there as well.

Tywin and Robb locked eyes for a second while he began to talk. The lion's pride vs the wolf's strength. That being the pride and all-knowing look in Tywin's eyes with Robb's wanting to murder the Lannister on the spot. He didn't exact want to turn this trial into a crime scene.

"The court is now in session. The people vs Ramsay Bolton on the multiple charges of assault, kidnapping, torture, rape and first degree murder.

They brought Ramsay out in his prison jumpsuit and he was smirking. Smirking! Like he was out walking in the park and he had nothing to worry about. Like he wasn't about to be put on trial for running countless lives.

Ramsay spoke as he was escorted by two men with guns. "This reminds me of the Sept of Balor. Of course not as much fire, that whole thing. Having a Lannister involved." Tywin having been reminded of his daughter's accomplishment in killing a lot of people and getting off free was shook for a moment but brushed it off.

"Quiet the defendant! This is your only warning." Tywin looked down and Ramsay instantly shut his lips. The lawyer that Ramsay had glared at him but kept his face solid. Robb could smell him from where he was seated. He smelt of an obnoxiously expensive cologne, hair as stiff as a board and a suit that navy blue embroidery. This was the best that money could afford.

Robb hadn't planned on Ramsay's father spending good money to try and bail out his bastard son where there wasn't a chance in hell of him getting out. No matter how good his defence was there was no physical way it could be combatted with the amount of evidence that they had collected on him. A deeply uncomfortable feeling began to resonate in the depths of his stomach but he ignored it.

So far so good. The trial had gone as planned. All of the solid evidence had been shown and it was certain that the jury had been convinced of his guilt. Mr Poole who had been in the audience had been escorted out when he had tried to throw a rock at Ramsay's head for murdering his precious little daughter. There had been evidence, knifes and pictures. There had been so many pictures some of which caused an elderly woman in the jury to nearly faint it had become that graphic.

All of this had been minor however compared to the main event. Everyone had been anticipating it. The jury, the judge and the audience. No reporters were allowed inside but it was clear some seemingly innocent people had their phones ready to try and get a picture of him. em'Bastards'/em He thought. The whole lot of them were scum. Just scum who shouldn't be allowed to exist.

Robb hadn't even been listing to anything. The only sound he could hear and it was the most awful sound he ever heard. Ramsay Bolton still breathing.

"I think it's time I call the star witness to the stand. I call Theon Greyjoy up to the stand."

There hadn't just been a media circus surrounding it, there had been a media Mardi Gras around it. The illusive Mr X finally going to court with a survivor as a witness no less. Swarms of reporters had surrounded the hospital when Theon had first been admitted to try and get an exclusive interview. Robb had heard the phrase "Reporters are soulless" before many times but now they way there were staring hungrily at the door made him realise how accurate it was.

Everyone was on the edge of their seats

They're eyes followed as Theon shuffled out of the room.

Robb saw Theon and tried to get him to focus his eyes on him just like they had practiced. This is where their plan started to go off the tracks a little bit.

Theon was walked into the room by two burly looking guards and he was okay for the first couple of steps. The next couple of steps were wobbly as he could hear Ramsay beginning to snicker at him from where he was sitting. He tried his best to hide his face but he could feel Ramsay staring at him He didn't even see them but he just knew that they were unblinking.

Theon took his place in front for everyone to see. He tried to avoid the way people were staring at him. He knew why they were all looking at him. He was the victim. He was the helpless person who had been subjected to horrors and they wanted to study him like he was some kind of animal.

Ramsay's lawyer was the first to go up and question him. Theon shrunk away as he approached. He stood right in front of him and he couldn't control the shiver that attacked him in that moment.

"Mr Greyjoy do you see the supposed criminal in this room today?"

"…Yes…" Theon replied focusing on the microphone as he was told. His eyes had no idea where they were meant to look. He could try looking at the ceiling but that reminded him of when Ramsay forced him on his back but if he looked down he would feel like he was taking commands from Ramsay again. It was like his psyche was taking a beating at every available moment.

"Point him out please." Ramsay smirked and waited for his eyes to meet his pets. It had been far too long and in all honesty Ramsay was getting a little homesick. Even if he had a simple phone call from him that would have sufficed. His voice, his breath and his little stutters. He needed all of those back in his life. Could Ramsay live without his Reek? Probably. But there would be a time where he become totally emotionally unstable and that was good for no one involved.

Theon had been keeping his head down at this point but when he slightly raised it he got a good look Ramsay. He was smirking and he was bearing his teeth. Theon noticed that there were less teeth then before, he assumed it was due to Robb punching him in the mouth.

"Can you explain to the court how you know Mr Ramsay Bolton?" Now he was really pushing Robb's buttons. Essentially he was being paid to try and trigger him and get him to mess up. They had worked too hard for something like this to happen.

"He-He kept me as his prisoner for a year." He said plainly.

The longer he looked the more his façade began to break and break. Any counselling tips he had received had gone completely out the window. Theon couldn't look away as he was filled with an awful terror.

"When and how did you meet him?"

"I-I was in a…pub…He drugged my drink." It was hard to go back but that night would never leave him, the way he so blindly accepted the drink would never leave him, the feeling of him dropping his ring. 

The lawyer put on a faked curiosity. He knew all that had happened and it was just a matter of letting everyone else in the room know what happened. "Why were you in the pub at the first place?"

"I don't think I should-" Theon knew where this was going but with the mix of emotions he felt like he might actually collapse on the spot.

"Answer the question." He yelled above an indoor voice to spook him into saying it. 

Both Robb and Theon knew what was being insinuated. The whole damned reason this happened in the first place. He didn't think that he would find a person who would stoop so low as to drag this back up from the dirt. "I had a f-f-fight with my fiancé."

"What about?" That seemed the be the question everyone was asking, including Catelyn and co. 

"It wasn't anything. It was just a stupid argument about moving house." Theon wanted to avoid this as much as possible and dodging questions was what he had been doing for a very long time.

"If it was so stupid why did you feel the need to leave the apartment? Was it because he physically threatened you?"

The district attorney stood up seeing how Theon was in the middle of panicking. "Objection. Disregard it as it is irrelevant."

Tywin Lannister pondered the statement for the moment. He sighed. "He may ask the question but get to the point and get to it quickly."

Theon looked to Robb for support but he was met with guilty eyes and a genuine loss at what to do. Robb was glaring, unblinking at the sleaze bag lawyer who seemingly ignored him. Theon had become vulnerable to manipulation and this guy was trying to tug on any string he could grab at.

"People of the jury do you think it's possible that maybe this witness is a fraud?!" Theon let out what was a barely audible what and then trying to get his breathing back under control. He was failing miserably of course.

"He just so happens to go to a bar after having what sounds like a pretty violent fight with his boyfriend. There he meets my client. I am here to tell you good people what really happened on that night."

This punk had everyone hooked on his words. He almost made them forget that Ramsay was the person on trial here. _Almost._

He cleared his throat and began his theory on what happened all those nights ago. "Theon Greyjoy simply ran away from his abusive soon to be husband and decided to stay with my client Ramsay Bolton. It turned into a manhunt and Mr Greyjoy felt guilty, guilt he couldn't face for a year. When he knew the police were coming he self-inflicted most of those wounds to cover his own guilt and frame my client! Even now he's been faking all of his shaking and flinches."

Everyone's eyes had been so fixated on the gentleman's performance that that failed to notice how stressed Theon had become. All his calm was gone. All of Theon was gone. Reek hadn't been given a proper burial and it was long overdue that he appeared again.

All it took for Theon to break was him to look at Ramsay's mouth as he slowly said the name Reek in a voice that only Theon seemed to hear.

It had all become too much.

"No that's not- Oh gods please. Please! I'm sorry. Don't hurt me. Don't hurt me. I'll be good Ramsay please! Oh gods." His eyes began to flutter open and he was shielding himself from Ramsay's predatory gaze.

Robb instantly shot up but the situation as getting that out of control Tywin knew it was time to step in. He was exceptionally quick to bang down his gavel. The jury seeing his violent reaction cemented him getting prison time.

"Guards get him out of here. We'll take a 15 minute break for the witness to compose himself." There was an immediate silence in the room apart from the whimpering coming from Theon of course. No one wanted an enraged Tywin not after what happened with Roger Reyne.

Two guards who Robb had never laid eyes on before entered the room and took the shaking mess of a man out of there. Once everyone was allowed out of their seats he was up like a shot and over to try and talk to Theon.

Robb tried to get in there but the guard pushed him away. Robb was pissed and he was about to deck his across the face but one of them took the time to explain how if he talked to Theon then Ramsay's lawyer might say he was trying to corrupt the witness. He then understood why he couldn't be allowed in but hearing Theon's desperate cries through the door was pure torture for him.

He took his seat once more and felt a reassuring hand on his shoulder. It turned out to be Jon.

Inside of the spare room Theon had been seated on one of the soft chairs to be allowed to compose himself. He had to first breathe in and out enough times so that he could remember what the doctor had told him. That didn't help the way he felt like he was being choked mercilessly.

Before he could say anything the guards began to fumble for something in his pocket. Theon recognised him as one of Ramsay's boys. He had no idea why he didn't pick it out sooner. Of course he tried to make a run for the door but the other guard who was clearly on Ramsay's pay roll but not once of his official accomplices held him back and delivered a swift punch to his face sending him straight down.

The man, known as Damon (Or rather Damon dance for me as he had been dubbed so by Ramsay) stuffed a wet shoddy looking rag into Theon's face and Theon knew this situation all too well. If he had to place a bet he would bet that once he woke up again he would be tied up somewhere with the Bolton's bastard boys and he would be terrified awaiting Ramsay's eventual return.

He wouldn't be Ramsay's prisoner. He wouldn't being going back there alive, not after having such a sweet taste of freedom and getting so much better.

Despite all the panic he knew what he had to do. He did what he knew he could do best. Play the part. The smell of the liquid was quite disgusting, like sour milk and He held his breath for a couple of seconds but of course he faked his passing out altogether. If he faked being unconscious then he might be able to surprise them and then make an escape when the time was right.

As they pushed hard he did manage to fool them into thinking was firmly passed out. He had kept his eyes firmly shut but he could feel them lifting him up and talking about how Ramsay was going to be pleased to have his bitch back and how much fun they could have. He repressed anything that could give him away but trying to stop himself throwing up or shivering was proving difficult.

The worst part was Robb had no idea what was going on and he was just on the other side of the door.

A guard came out of the room and quickly got the judges attention. While they were loading Theon into the van they would go on with the rest of the plan. Just like Ramsay told them. Tywin sighed, coughed and ordered silence in the court. The silence was immediately received.

"The witness is in no state to continue today. He will give his testimony when the defendant is not present. The trial will continue regardless of this decision." He said. Robb tried to see if Theon was getting out of the room but the door remained firmly shut, his suspicious arose slightly.

Seeing as Theon was out of commission the next person was called up to speak. Well not person but a monster. Now it was Ramsay's turn to take the stand. He was so cocky while walking up. It was clear Tywin took a disliking to him immediately as he turned up his nose and glared at him with every step he took.

As he took his seat his lawyer was the first one up to ask him questions. He began with what Robb expected. "What was your relationship with the witness?"

"I fucked him." Ramsay said, his eyes glancing over to Robb for a split second knowing what it would do to his emotions.

Tywin rubbed his eyes, having to deal with the younger generation of people caused him to lose at least five years of his life span. "Language Mr Bolton. I respect your father that doesn't mean I have to respect you as an individual."

Ramsay knew it was best not to piss off the head of the Lannister family for now so he changed his voice. "Allow me to rephrase. We had a consensual relationship. We were simply experimenting. Any scar he had was simply a result of something we wanted to try in the bedroom. Sometimes it went badly. We couldn't go to the hospital because I knew I would be arrested."

Robb was seeing nothing else but red. To dare to imply that their relationship had been consensual despite the overwhelming evidence suggesting otherwise was a vulgarity. He had gotten better at containing his emotions but anger was flowing in his veins.

Ramsay continued. "Of course. The poor thing. I met him in a bar one night and he was absolutely shaken. His 'lover' had left him with a nasty bruise on his side. I had to take him in. When I found out that Robb Stark was a member of the police I knew I couldn't go to them about this matter as Robb would get him again. He stayed with me and our relationship blossomed into something rather beautiful, yes it wasn't perfect but it was better than the alternative."

Everyone was going to kill Ramsay Bolton at this point. The way he was wording it to sound so innocent was disgusting him. No one was buying this of course due to the prior evidence shown. Catelyn looked like she was about to rip his throat out with her bare teeth for talking about her son like he was an abusive person. Although this was the first time any of them had heard the full extent of the fight that caused Theon to flee from their crappy apartment in the first place.

Sansa knew this type of talk and she had to get out of there. It was the way Joffery talked. She ran away with a tear in her eyes and Robb looked back. He needed them to be there but his little sister came first every time so he knew he should let them go.

Since they knew that Theon would no longer be a part of this trail Catelyn and the rest of the Starks left to go try and catch up with her. Meera wheeling Bran away while Catelyn took the lead as she had the motherly internal instinct which would allow her to locate her daughter.

Around 20 minutes later he began his line of questioning once again. The whole commotion had settled itself only when Tywin spoke. And so he spoke.

"What else did you expose Theon to? Anything that may have affected him psychologically?" He asked. He and Ramsay had talked this over a million times so he knew the exact words that were going to come out of his mouth.

"I exposed Theon to a lot of things." This was not what he expected to come out of his client's lips.

"Explain." Robb could see that Ramsay's lawyer said it through gritted teeth and something was obviously going on between the two. The tension was rising like the sun on a summer's morning. Hot and fast.

"Like explosives for example. They are a wonderful thing don't you think? They can be so small and cause so much damage. The best part is you can be anywhere to detonate it. That reminds me I'll have to thank my boys later for doing such a good job while I was in prison."

Everyone who was on the police force in that room had their suspicions amplified by at least a million percent. There were tell-tale signs that something big was about to go down. Ramsay was clearly holding back a laugh and his breathing increased dramatically.

Among the murmur of the crowd Robb looked around and noticed something that he hadn't before. There seemed to be a black wire running along the seating. It would have gone unnoticed by most and Robb had been in this specific court many times and he knew that it had not been there before. Jon caught on in the exact same moment.

"Wait- Your honour!" Robb yelled standing up trying to run towards the source. It was hard to see but from where it was head it seemed like it lead directly into the crowd of innocents that were watching it.

Ramsay stood up tipped his head and smirked one last time before he spoke in his showman voice. "Like be sitting in witness stand and remotely detonate everyone in the audience who is spectating." He was too late to stop Ramsay before he pulled out a small device from his sleeve and pushed down.

Everyone yelled.

It was a dazzling symphony. The light was what everyone saw first then the amplified boom coming from the audience soon accompanied by the screams and terror of any civilian who had been watching at the moment. Then there was the rumble of the plaster ceiling about to give in. It had all happened so quickly that people had no idea of what was truly happening until it was over.

There was fire. Lots and lots of fire. If they hadn't known any better it must have been what the Sept of Balor looked like only on a much smaller scale.

There were obvious casualties. One person who had been sitting at the seat of the explosion had been thrown across the room in several different pieces. One of the metal lights had fallen down onto someone's head and had squashed it making it look like a pumpkin. Or Oberyn Martell.

Robb was aware of a voice calling out to him but it was rather muffled. The explosion had momentarily disabled his brain from functioning normally. This was the first time he had ever been close to an explosion and he would never wish the experience onto anyone. Anyone who wasn't a Bolton.

After a couple of seconds the voice had become a lot clearer. "Robb- For fucks sake Robb get up- Robb!" He was now aware of now a harsh tugging on his sleeve.

"Jon what…"

Jon was more sober then he was but he was further away from the blast zone. "Ramsay had it trapped. He's gone."

This got Robb to come back to reality a lot quicker than normal.

It was a miracle that thy had survived it seemed that the explosion had happened more near the back so they were far away enough that no serious harm was done. They'd defiantly need first aid but they didn't exactly have time to think about that right now and others bleeding out their crimson red blood needed it first.

The first order of business was finding their family. Jon hoisted the half limp Robb out the nearly blockaded doors until he had enough of his senses back to stand on his own two feet.

They made it to a part of the building that wasn't quite outside but wasn't the inside either. Wherever they were they were far enough away from the burning wood and heavy smoke that enveloped it.

They thanked all the gods when they saw Catelyn, Tywin and a couple of the others looking roughed up but relatively unharmed. Robb ran and hugged Catelyn so tightly she thought she would have the life squeezed out of her. "Mum, thank the gods you're okay."

"I know. Oh my son I'm so glad you're safe." She hugged back. She had been outside with Sansa, Bran and the others when the blast had occurred and she had sent them running for help. They had all begged her to go with them but she would not be leaving her son behind. And she had made a promise to Ned that she would never let anything bad happen to Jon.

After Robb was reassured of his family's safety he needed to know where they were. "Where are they now?"

Catelyn caught her breath. "Sansa is with them outside. Brynden is coming to pick them up and take them home."

"Good. Go with them. Jon and I will handle it from here." He looked back and looked at the amount of smoke coming from the hole in the roof. It was going to become a hazard to her if she stayed here any longer.

"Neither of you die on me." Cat said with a fierce determination in her eyes. Now that there had been a visual confirmation of both boys being alive she was ready to leave and look after the rest of them.

She made sure to include Jon. She didn't mean it about wanting Jon back but she didn't feel like being a petty bitch at this moment and he could use the motivation. Jon was shocked once by the explosion but this was an entirely different shock. Oddly enough he forgot all the bitterness they had felt towards each other the past twenty five years and nodded.

_Theon._

Robb had completely forgotten how Theon was still inside. So was Ramsay. He felt like a moron for not figuring it out sooner. Instead of Jon dragging him, it was him dragging Jon back into the flames. They had been trained for this situation and this is exactly what they should not be doing but all those drills were nothing like the real thing and by breaking their training they could be saving a life.

To their up most surprise when they went in most of the flames had died down significantly and now it seemed that the flames had moved onto a different part of the Red Keep, leaving the court room filled with smoke. It was still a hazard but if they could get to the room it would be worth it.

Jon's brown eyes met Robb's and they both nodded before taking a deep breath and running through the grey blanket of potential death. It was nearly impossible to see anything but one of the pews that was still burning provided enough light that they could see the outline of it.

On the count of three both men ran into the room where Theon had been taken to calm down from his witness stand meltdown. There was a sign of a struggle but no sign of Theon. Robb wanted to tell himself that it was simply because of the shaking building and that Theon simply got out before anything bad happened but knowing that Ramsay had planned the explosion lead him to know that he had purposefully caused Theon a panic attack so he would be taken out of the room. Ramsay was not one step ahead. He was a whole hundred steps ahead, with back up plans included.

"Where could he have gone?" Robb looked around frantically to see any way that they could have gone out. There was a window but it was minuscule. Theon may have been skinny but Robb doubted even he could get through it.

Jon had a light bulb moment. "The alley. That door leads to the back alley!" He pointed to the door that blended in rather well with the décor of the walls. Robb was the closest so he tried tugging it open but it wasn't moving an inch. It had been barricaded from the other side but an insignificant thing like that wasn't going to stop Robb from saving Theon. He had already failed him once and he wasn't going to fail him again.

Using all the strength he had accumulated at the police from rigorous training and doing press ups (Sometimes with Theon Greyjoy on his back cheering him on) he broke the door of its hinges and left the wooden pallet had been broken into little bits as well. Jon was a little bit frightened by the strength he had used.

When Robb and Jon made it outside they found not what they had expected.

Their eyes were both drawn to the butchers van that was parked at the end of the alley. A butchers van with a knife on the side left them both at unease, knowing the implications of what they could find inside. The pair of them their guns had been drawn in case one of the Bolton gang were going to rear their ugly heads.

"Jon, I'll look around and I'll-!" There was a banging going on behind the vans door. Theon who was inside of the van could hear voice outside. The voice that only a Stark could have. His limbs felt weak but he knew he had to get out or else he would be forced to suffer again.

The thought of being in Robb's safe and secure arms gave him the courage to get out. The red doors swung open and a disoriented Theon covered in blood and stumbling towards them. He walking seemed slow and sluggish until he saw Robb and Jon then it turned into a motion that looked like he was running with a limp.

"Oh god did he hurt you again?" Robb checked him all over but the blood over him made it hard to see where the wound was. Theon was trying his best to focus but it was getting harder each second. With the trauma of seeing Ramsay again and the drug that had slightly gotten into his system he was the weakest he had felt since being freed.

"N-ot m-y blo-od." He coughed up.

Jon's mouth slightly agape asked the first question. "Theon what the hell happened?"

"I did-n't do any-thing. I'm sorry. I-I-I-I!" The course language was not what he needed right now. No way was he going to tell what happened right now, he needed to get safely back home then when he calmed down he might be in the mood for talking.

"Jon get him out of here. I'll find Ramsay." They both knew what Robb was going to do when he got his hands on Ramsay. It was illegal but neither of them cared very much at this point. Jon wasn't going to try and hold him back this time.

Theon said one last thing before his scrawny body went limp. He was still awake but he was totally depleted of any strength.

"I con-confronted him…He…Blood…Teeth…I hid in-in-in the van."

Jon noticed a particularly odd smell coming from Theon's mouth and when he got closer he recognised it as an uncommon knock out drug. Another thing to add to the list of things Theon had gone through and things that could endanger his life.

"Robb he's been dosed with Ether or chloroform. Either ways he's going to be out of his senses for a couple of hours."

"I'll get him to a doctor." Jon lugged the semi-conscious Theon over his shoulder to carry him easier. While he turned to run Theon weakly tried to reach out for Robb but he couldn't tell which blurred image was him. The black speckles on his vision didn't help much either. Robb blew him a quick kiss before getting back to business.

"I'll find Ramsay."

Since there was no sign of Ramsay or his boys they had clearly fled. The only way to flee was into the rest of the alley which was a lot deeper and grimier then he would have liked. He went down the maze of an alley and looked around but couldn't see any sign of a body. He was worried Theon had been wrong but then something caught his attention. Something rather odd.

Dogs were howling but as far as Robb knew no dogs were allowed anywhere near the Red Keep in order to keep its pristine look at all times. From how low the growl sounded it seemed like rabid wolves.

Then when he came to the source of the noise that was when he came upon it. Upon seeing it he felt three very strong emotions.

Shock. Horror. A sick twisted sense of glee.

Why would he feel this range of emotions? This was the range of emotions he felt as he saw the bloodied corpse of Ramsay Bolton. At first it was hard to tell by a facial recognition but then the jumpsuit made it very clear he was indeed the Bastard of the Dreadfort.

When he came upon Ramsay's body it was a mess. No, mess was too clean a word, mangled seemed to fit the description a lot better. The bitches that surrounded him had their jaws caked with blood and their bodies had several human bite marks in an attempt for Ramsay to escape them. He failed.

The eye that was still remaining in his socket was wide open. Fear was in it. Robb knew he had died screaming. A fitting way to die for such a vial man. It soon become a puzzle but instead of little cardboard shapes he was looking around for the pieces of Bolton. A piece of ear by the bins, half a hand falling into the open drain and his jaw simply thrown a meter from the rest of his face. The flies had already began to claim it as their home as they buzzed about his head and rested in his empty eye socket.

His detective instinct told him it must have happened shortly after the explosion when Ramsay had a run in with the dogs. He knew the Kings Landing dog problem was bad but he didn't think it would be as bad as to maul people in this gruesome manner.

It had already begun to stink something fierce and he wish he could have thrown up. He wished to see Ramsay Bolton tortured and dead but this just seemed…Well it wasn't extreme enough for him just plain unsettling that the dogs had done it. "Jesus."

The dogs seemed to be content after having a full meal so they weren't hostile towards Robb which he supposed was a good thing. After looking at one of the dogs tags he saw a name. A name which caused him to realize this just became a whole lot more than just a random street dog attack. On the metallic silver bone shaped tag it read as Kyra. Ramsay's favourite dog besides Theon.

He glanced at the other dogs and likewise they were all the dogs he had seen at Ramsay's little hell house. These had been his dogs. His own dogs had turned on their master and ripped him to little shreds with no remorse.

Ramsay Bolton was dead by his own hounds.

Considering how his hounds had been taken in by animal control it wasn't a freak accident that these dogs found him. It was planned. Someone knew Ramsay Bolton was going to be here and someone had brought the hounds specifically to hurt him. Only one question remained.

_Who?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who committed the crime?
> 
> Find out some point next week!


	24. The Realisation Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robb and Theon talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm afraid this tale will soon be coming to a close. It'll be finished in about 4 or 5 chaps. However if anyone wants to recommend a scenario or date Theon and Robb could go on I would be more then happy to add it in. Enjoy!

He had been out there for ages. Theon had been sitting silent for almost 2 hours now. Robb was contemplating joining him outside despite it being a rather nippy night out. It had just gone the first of December so winter had finally come. There had already been snow in November but tonight it had chosen to be rather heavy. In fact a small layer had already landed on Theon's hair, which by the way was beginning to regain a little bit of its original colour.

"Hey Theon how are you doing?" He asked already guessing he was one of two things. He was either going be truthful by staying silent or say he was fine and lie. A small wind blew across and the both of them and Theon inhaled.

"Fine…" He said as Robb suspected. Him being fine never normally lasted though. The cycle was normally he would say he's ok, someone triggers a memory, he starts sobbing loudly or completely just shut down and then he'd end up either talking things out with Robb or sleeping it off. It was a cycle which Robb wished he could just break. He had been especially volatile since the court incident

"Good. Do you want me to make anything? You haven't eaten since we got home from the hospital today." Robb had observed that his appetite had lessened to only partially eating bit of fruit he was given. In fact he wasn't sure he should even count it as eating as it was more like a light nibbling, like a mouse almost.

Silence. Robb thought of how he could get him to talk but in his heart he knew that he should wait until he was ready to talk for himself. He shouldn't force this. When another chill went down his spine he remembered that he also brought out one of his jackets for him to wear as he didn't want him as Catelyn put it "Catching his death of the cold."

Robb handed him it and he looked at it for a second. He didn't need it. He had grown used to sleeping on a cold floor no matter what whether it was so he hadn't really noticed. He took it regardless and just put it on his lap to keep Robb happy. "They've caught all of Ramsay's goons. They're up for trial but you don't have to give a statement this time." Robb told him.

Theon mostly expressed though his face and right now it was showing a relief like never before. This was first real time he felt security. Ramsay was dead and his goons couldn't get him and also since their leader was dead he guessed they would disband. It was a nice feeling, one he could potentially get used to.

Then of course the guilt of what happened before Ramsay's death came back to him. His smile faded and he went back to the silence.

"I caused all those people to die."

It was so small but the impacting damage was there. In Theon's cracked mind there was no way in hell anyone would be able to convince him that it wasn't his fault.

Robb extended a gentle hand along with a sigh. "You didn't do this."

Of course Robb would say that. He was perfect in trying to make him feel better but from this there was no going back from this. A grand total of 4 people had died in the court house and a current 14 were in critical condition. "Master was after me. He was always after me. If I wasn't alive they would all still be breathing but here I am. A waste of space. Nothing. A broken man."

Robb hadn't missed the small master detail he had added. It was kind of like a knife to the chest to hear but he knew better then to correct him as he was already feeling a pretty low point and he didn't need to be feeling his lowest. He knew his mind had sunk low but in this moment he could tell Theon was feeling his lowest.

Theon wished that he had gotten into a drunken car crash after the fight. He prayed that once Ramsay cut off his manhood he would have gone into shock and die from the amount of blood loss and he hoped that he had died in the explosion. His death would have made a hell of a difference to a lot of people.

None of these happened of course but he had a deep gut feeling that everyone's lives would be better if any of those things had happened. His therapist had only scratched the surface of these feelings and Theon had wanted to keep them locked down but it seemed the explosion had melted down the walls of ice he had put up in his mind.

Theon looked to Robb without realizing that his face was wet with tears. Robb wiped them away and let his cheek be touched by Robb's warm hand. Another reason he felt guilty was because Robb was wasting his good nature on him. Ramsay was a poison well and Theon had been forced to drink the water, tainting him as well.

"I talked with him before he died." Theon had been debating this for the past 48 hours and seeing as it was the right time came to the conclusive decision to let Robb in on the conversation that took place him and his captor.

"With Ramsay?" Robb hadn't simply made the assumption that he was taken and left in the back of the van and that was that. Apparently there was more to the story.

He remembered every vivid detail like it was a memory from five minutes ago. Garbage lying in the street, the taste of Ramsay's saliva, the graffiti that adored the brick walls and finally the exact tone in which he told him all the horrid things he was going to do with him.

em"My Reek. It's been far too long. I've missed you all these weeks, cold and alone in my cell."

Theon had been chucked in the back of the van by the goons who thought he was properly passed out and Ramsay had escaped and had finally arrived to come check on him. It took him by surprise Theon was still conscious but it made things a hell of a lot more exciting for him.

Theon was going into panic mode. His brain reverting back to Reek in fear of Ramsay's presence. "Master please. I'm so sorry it's not my fault." Theon said as he grovelled at the master's feet in hopes he could find forgiveness in his sub-zero heart.

"Oh Reek of course it's your fault. You ran away with that slut ex of yours." Ramsay was in the danger zone. Seeing Theon in the arms of Robb had made his blood begin to boil and he had been meaning to retrain his Reek properly. If he gave Theon credit for one thing it would be his mind. No matter how much he put him through he had never properly gotten rid of Theon.

"I didn't have a choice." This seemed like the better alternative to saying he wanted to escape him. If he could stall Ramsay someone would come. They had to. Some person had to escape the burning Red Keep and come into the alley and put an end to this madness once and for all.

"Didn't you? From what I saw you could have visited me. You could have told the police I was innocent and left it at that. But you didn't. Oh Reek how I missed your stupidity." He grabbed Theon and forced his tongue into his mouth. He seemed annoyed at first but it had just been a build up to getting what he really wanted. The sweet taste of fear running through his veins.

Back in real life Theon could feel the bile rising and while he did manage to keep it down he still had to spit. The flavour of Ramsay came back for a moment and he wanted rid of it. Robb handed him a tissue and wiped away the remaining saliva. Theon thanked him and gave a weak smile before continuing.

"I didn't know where to go. I had faked being unconscious so I was able to push him away and I ran into the alley. He caught up and pushed me down, I tried getting up but he pushed me back down over and over. He kept saying all those things, calling me Reek." No matter in what context he heard it the word reek was forever tainted for him. He broke down anytime he heard a person saying casually how the bin reeked. Theon's hand shook and tried to hide it from Robb, failing to do so of course.

"Okay, it's okay. He's gone." Robb told him all the comforting words. Like a family being told a loved one was dying it was hard to take in. Robb was amazed he was sharing this much already but he felt like he should stop Theon before he went into territory he couldn't come back from.

Theon remembered exactly what had happened when the dogs had attacked Ramsay.

"Then there was a whistling. I don't know who. The dogs attacked him and started ripping him to shreds. I wanted to look away but I couldn't. It was so relieving but I was horrified.

He was afraid that the dogs would attack him but they seemed to totally ignore him. Ramsay's bones being torn right out of his joints was an experience he would never dare to repeat. The blood had been flying as each dogs helped themselves to a piece of him. One of the biggest dogs was responsible for most of the heavy damage to his face and body.

"I wanted to be the one to kill him. A primal part of me just wanted to grab a sharp broken piece of wood from the side and plunge it into his throat. I wanted to do so many things." Theon said with a darkness Robb had rarely seen before. Only when Theon got really annoyed would he say something so graphic in detail. Along with all of his fears of Ramsay the hatred had been bubbling away underneath all this time and with his death he felt like it was coming up more. His only hope was being able to control it if it ever happened to come up.

Theon may have left out the minor detail of how the image came across him mind to flay him living. His eyes watching intensely as he peeled away Ramsay and heard his blood curdling screams as he did to so many before him. Ramsay deserved the pain he caused others and while Theon was sure being eaten alive by dogs wasn't the best solution a part of him felt like he and the other victims had been cheated out of their rightful justice.

He was dead and the dead had to remain where they belonged. In the past.

Theon thought of his house words and never had they rang more true before. What is dead may never die. It fit Ramsay perfectly. He had been bloodied by the hounds but yet he was still very alive in Theon's mind, Like a ghost he would haunt him for the rest of his days.

Most of the things had been cleared up for Robb except one thing. "You ran out of the van when we found you."

"I saw Damon coming to look for Ramsay so I hid." Theon explained. Even though everything else was kind of blurry he remembered everything about his tormentors perfectly. He had been hiding behind a rubbish bin when he got a glimpse of blonde greasy hair yelling for Ramsay to come out so they could get the bitch moved. By bitch he knew that they had meant him so hiding became priority.

"I'm glad you're safe." Robb made sure to let Theon know that he was safe at every opportunity.

Theon gave a small sigh and for the first time with total intention he made direct eye contact with Robb. It was something he had been slowly building up to and being able to do it on his own was giving him a part of his lost confidence back.

"I want to put this behind us for real. He's gone. We can move on." Theon said. He had thought of this beforehand after he had first been rescued but now Ramsay was in a million little pieces he was truly ready to move on. Ramsay in all physicality was dead.

Robb nodded in agreement. He had been waiting for this moment for so long and he couldn't express in words how proud he was of his mighty kraken. He had risen up harder and stronger against the odds and he was pulling through. It wasn't over by a long shot but this was a good strong start.

"I'm going back to work with Yara. In 3 days." He said it with confidence and honestly Robb wasn't sure how to feel. He only slightly tightened his grip on his hand but it was enough for Theon to move it back slightly.

"So soon? Are you sure?" Robb said apologetically. He was glad that Theon seemed confident but going back so soon after the trial didn't sound right to Robb. A month just to get things sorted and of rest seemed more appropriate.

"I talked it over with her. I think it would do me good to get back on the sea." Those were Yara's words coming out of his mouth and not his own. Yara had insisted he get back to the sea and while he agreed he would do it for her he wasn't exactly sure if it was what he wanted personally. He managed to convince his inner voice it would be fine and that it was a part of him.

"But the boat..." Robb was going to argue the point of the Honeymoon incident as they referred to it and seeing the boat again might trigger some bad memories. Then again bringing it up now after the events of two days ago might cause him to have an even worse reaction. Theon could see where this was going and Robb promptly shut his mouth.

"I think that's a good idea." Robb always radiated that loving warmth that made Theon feel safe. He had an awareness that Robb was tired and he was too. Personally Theon felt nowhere near ready to go back to work as he felt weak in his body, mind and his soul but he wanted to lift some of the weight off Robb's shoulders. Salt was associated with the feeling of Ramsay violently beating on his legs with a crow bar as a punishment for him legs accidently kicking him during one of their games and the shame of knowing how close Yara was too and being too cowardly to go for help.

Robb and Theon shared a tender moment. The mood was just right and Theon planted a small kiss onto Robb's cheek and before Robb could realise what was going on he did a light on his lips. Theon felt nothing of Ramsay when he didn't for one major reason. He had initiated it. He had total control over everything and he could stop it whenever he wanted.

It had been so long since he had felt Theon's lips against his own in a proper kiss. If felt nice but he reserved himself as to not get to carried away. As Theon's therapist said Theon should be in charge at all times until they made further progress and his mind had more time to heal properly. A small tear of contentment ran down his cheek and Theon gave him a smile.

"Why are you crying? I'm meant to be the nervous crying wreck remember." He laughed with a laugh that was positively genuine. Theon couldn't remember the last time he had made a joke but it felt so good to be able to have laughter in his body again. 

A hint of old Theon. Humour. Ramsay Bolton dying was really the best thing that had happened to Theon. Robb and Theon finally joined in a hug and proceeded to laugh off the conversation and leave it on what was the happiest note that they could.

Things were looking up for the Stark-Greyjoy family.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After their wonderful little exchange Yara had come over for a visit in order to talk more about Theon getting back to work again so Robb was just waiting for them to be finished up. In the meantime he was sorting things around the house. Not his house but rather Catelyn's. They were temporarily staying there until the apartment was cleared because apparently Ramsay had taken the liberty of leaving a small gift of dogs blood smeared all over the walls. When they rounded up the boys and interrogated them they said it was for Robb to find if he got home from the trial.

Unlike the smell of poor mutilated animals the smell of pancakes and herbal tea was wafting its way through the house. Robb could take a wild guess at who had been cooking food for the ones who were about the house. Most of the others had gone to work.

He was just going to pass on through. He didn't exactly have an appetite after everything that had happened and also he had gotten a cup of black coffee and a small snack bar so he was set for the day. Not the healthiest diet but since he was a police officer it was what he was accustomed to.

At the table two people were seated. One was his mother clearly tired along with his young red headed sister. They both seemed liked they were deep in their conversation and he didn't feel like interrupting them however at the mention of Ramsay his interest was aroused and there was no stopping it.

Robb only heard about half of Catelyn's already spoken sentence. "-how Ramsay died though Sansa?"

"His dogs killed him." Sansa said taking a huge bite out of her strawberry covered pancakes. It was one of her angry bites which let the others know what mood she was in. She tried to look intimidating but it was hard considering she had a little bit of chocolate dripping on her corner of her lip.

"He was killed by dogs?" Catelyn asked voice filled with disbelief. This had Robb's interest peaked even more and he listened in for good reason.

"Oh I…heard it…in the police station. Apparently it was gruesome." Sansa said taking another long sip of her tea while her eyes looked to the side. Robb knew that there was only one time she would do that and it was when she was telling a lie.

When silence fell Robb knew he had some interrogating to do.

Catelyn looked down at her watch and nearly threw down her fork onto the plate. "Well I'd better be off. With Roose busy with his bastard's death things have been hectic at work. Goodbye princess." She kissed her daughter on the forehead before getting her bag and leaving.

"Sorry Robb. Have to run. Remember to help Meera with Bran and if he starts talking like a computer with no emotions just ignore him. He's going through a phase." She sounded exhausted and he wished that she could just rest up for five minutes but she was a woman of action and not much could stop her.

He nodded with a confused understanding. He said goodbye and went in to take his seat beside Sansa.

"Robb, how are you doing?" She said as she swallowed the first of two pancakes.

Robb grabbed a glass of water because she knew Sansa would have a fit at him if he didn't look after his health properly.

"Fine. I was just prescribed something to help with the pain." He took out the small white pack and took one and half little ocean coloured pills. He wouldn't rather be on these but both the doctor and Theon convinced him that it was for the best.

His throat and mouth had been killing him and he was given the okay but he would have to take some little blue pills every morning to make sure it wouldn't develop into something worse. The fresh air should prove a capable medicine.

"Oh good."

There was a silence. Sansa resumed her eating of the food while Robb still stared at her. He wasn't going to bother himself with the pleasantries and he got straight to the point.

"No one but Theon and I know how Ramsay died. It hasn't been released to the public or the rest of the station, not even Jon. Only the mortician knows that." Sansa put down the knife and fork. Her lips looked like they wanted to speak but they remained firmly shut. She was waiting for Robb to speak before she said anything.

He had found it very odd how on the day of the trial all of his family members just so happened to leave before anything had happened. It seemed very suspicious but he hadn't bothered to question it at the time.

"Sansa…You killed him didn't you?" Robb wasn't accusing her harshly but he was probing her and knowing exactly what buttons to push.

Sansa eyes said everything. It wasn't like they were filled with remorse. She was defiantly Catelyn's daughter.

"He was another abuser Robb. He would have kept on tormenting Theon to no end. If I hadn't done it Theon would be his prisoner again. I don't want to think what Ramsay would do to him had they escaped together."

"How? I mean did you know about the bomb?" Robb asked. If she did then he would seriously have to consider having to bring her in as people did die in that explosion and while it was Ramsay's fault Sansa's neglect helped it happen.

"No, gods no. When he spoke it did remind me of Joffery. I had to get fresh air. Then the explosion went off and I knew it was happening."

A weight came off Robb's mind but it still wasn't totally clear.

"How did you know Ramsay would have the van waiting?" Robb could see the colour drain from her face as he asked further questions. She began tapping her freshly painted nails on the table almost to a point of chipping them.

"I may have asked for help." Sansa grew stiff but still filled with the same unfeeling nature as she had been before.

"Who did you…-Oh Sansa you didn't?" It clicked in who she asked for help. Every member of the Stark family trusted Littlefinger the same amount that they trusted the Lannister's. None more than Catelyn and Sansa. Both of them knew his little games and while Cat had tried her best to protect her babies from his insidious deceptions he had crept his way into Sansa's life. He helped of course but it seemed he was beginning to get involved with Arya's affairs as well, almost as if he was pitting the two against each other.

"What choice did I have Robb?! He gave me the information first. I knew the court wouldn't give him a right sentence. The only fitting punishment was death and a just one at that." Sansa was growing smarter every day and she had grown so much. It almost scared Robb how his little sister had gone down this path. It was evident of course but still he felt like he could have prevented this had he not been so focused on everything else.

Sansa Stark was a killer.

Robb was going to call her out but he knew that she had done the best thing. Not technically the most legal but right for the family.

Both of them stared at each other, neither one wanting to break the silence.

"Are you going to arrest me brother?" She asked knowing that she had willing confessed her crimes to a police officer and he could arrest her for it. She knew her brother was a law abiding citizen but she was hoping that she would have mercy. And even if he didn't that would be okay as well. If her going to jail was because she ridded the world of a worthless killer it would have been worth it.

"Why? Ramsay Bolton was killed by his own dogs after they escaped from the pound. No one is at fault." Robb said implicitly. His sister had done the greatest public service and had masked it as a complete accident of nature. While it was against his better judgement he knew that this would be the one and only case where he would have to make an acceptation. And besides it's not like anyone was going to care for the death of Ramsay Bolton and Robb also guessed since their leader was dead the Bastard Boys would be no more.

Sansa sighed but she didn't smile with relief, in fact quite the opposite. "I don't regret it Robb."

"I know you don't. Thank you. Now maybe Theon will be able to move on."

Sansa gave him a look he couldn't quite describe but by the motion of her picking up the knife and pointing it at him made it clear she was going to say something poignant.

"Robb I have a piece of advice. Now Ramsay's dead he's not just going to forget what happened. That's going to be a part of him forever. I can't change that, you can't change that, No one can change that. And I don't mean No one as in Arya. No person can make Theon better, except maybe himself. What we have to do is help him not feel as terrible." These were the words that she wished anyone had told her once she escaped form Joffery.

"I know."

Sansa resumed her eating of the delicious pancakes while Robb tried to think of anything else to ask her.

"Are you going to tell Margaery?"

"I will."

"Don't you think she'll react badly to that news? That you murdered a person."

"If anything it'll strengthen our bond. She has a terrible secret she told me and now I can repay the debt. Nothing bonds a couple like dark, shared secrets." Sansa smirked while she watched the horrified confusion look grow on Robb's face.

"I…Won't ask what it is but assure me it's nothing too bad." Robb was learning a hell of a lot today. Mostly that his family, and soon to be family, all had horrible secrets locked away.

"I assure you." Sansa sipped while looking to the side. If Margaery went to jail for doing the inappropriate things with an underage Tommen Sansa made a vow she would turn herself in for Ramsay's murder. They would become prison wives if it came down to it.

With the idea of the innocent Tyrell having a dark secret in the back of his tired mind he put it back for later. His focus should be on Sansa at the moment. "You're sure you won't get caught?" This was probably one of the things he should have asked earlier on but then again how was he meant to think of it with all of the revelations this morning.

"For the last time I'm sure Robb. Now if you excuse me I have to go. Olenna wants to talk with me about what jewellery Margaery likes. Specifically a ring." She added

"You're doing it?" Robb asked surprised that it would be Sansa making the first move.

"Yep. Now that everything is over."

The both of them took a moment before Sansa's eyes looked up to the clock. She saw that she was going to be late to her appointment and Olenna was going to sass the hell out of her for it. She gathered her things in almost the exact same fashion as her mother had and went to leave.

"Sansa…Thank you." Robb had no idea how he would be able to repay her generosity but he guessed that the knowledge of him being dead would be enough to satisfy her.

Sansa nodded in acknowledgement and left.

Theon came in from the cold and to Robb's delight he had decided to put on the jacket he had left. He went up to Robb and snuggled into him by wrapping his arms around his warm body. Theon was just in the mood for contact. Most of the time he tried to avoid it like the plague but something about their talk made him long for comfort.

"I'm looking forward to the future my strong wolf." Theon spoke with a flirty edge on his voice. Ever since Robb had left him outside about half an hour ago he had been thinking of what to say.

"So am I my mighty Kraken." Robb joked back watching as it made him a slight bit flustered. With a red face. They shared a quick laugh and went about their business.

Things were going to get better from here on out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Theon's first day back on the job.


	25. The Sailor Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thoen's first day back at work goes well until someone drops by and opens their goddamn mouth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok i'm so sorry but if this seems shorter then usual i'm sorry it's just that I had a little accident with my hand and it's still healing. It should be fine in a week but it might delay stuff. Hopefully it doesn't as I gotta keep the weekly update scheduled. Enjoy this chapter anyway.

The scent of the salt was bringing Theon back a long time. He remembered the first time his mother brought him to the ocean with Yara and his two brothers. The feeling of the sand getting in between his toes and the soft winds across his face. He felt right back at home. He couldn't remember the last time he felt the amount of peace he did in this moment.

He was currently tasked with working the front desk and send patrons Yara's way and accept money. She didn't want him anywhere near the boats until he had gone to more therapy. He didn't have to know her motivations of course.

The main thing was that he seemed happy once again. He was interacting with people and while most of them scared him at first all of them made friendly conversations and some people even brought their kids along too and Theon had forgotten what innocence looked like. It was about half eleven in the morning but business seemed to be picking up at quite a steady rate. Though it was late in the year and almost coming into Christmas a lot of people still were happy enough to rent out and sail happily away.

She casually strolled up to the front desk and rang the small bell that that on the front desk much to Theon's lack of amusement. "How are we doing little brother?" She said with a chipper tone he didn't know existed.

He rolled his eyes and put in the last money of the transaction he had done."I'm doing fine Yara. It feels good to be back at work."

In reality he was only doing okay. Having a couple of fingers missing made certain tasks difficult but he was coping the best that he could. Then the glares of people looking at him like he was a freak wasn't helping his workplace mentality.

"I bet it does. So are you finding everything okay?" This was the true question she wanted to ask him. This was like a small burn to Theon because the way he interpreted it was that she didn't trust him to do anything right and he was a worthless employee and an even worse brother. His mind was simply going to the worst case scenario of course and after a minute of rational thinking he knew what she truly meant.

"I remember most of it." True they had upgraded the till system since last year but it still seemed the same as ever.

"Good because I'm not teaching you again." Yara said in a jokey tone. Theon laughed along too which really did surprise her. Anyone who looked at him would say that his eyes were still shaken but his slightly smug smile made up for it. Her brother was back but he still needed to come a little bit further.

There was a couple with small kids who just happened to be looking around and Theon noted one of the kids looking deeply at him, well more specifically his missing fingers. The mother coped onto this and dragged the child away before it could make a scene. Theon had been keeping a mental tally mark in his head and that had been the sixth child that day he had caught ogling his hand along with ten other fully grown mature adults. He considered wearing gloves but the ones they had in the shop were too bulky for him to do the maximum work he could accomplish.

"People keep looking." He said looking down at his remaining seven fingers.

"They're going to do that brother. Your face was all over the tabloids and the news. And while you look better than ever you're still missing a couple of digits.

Theon being back in the business was actually really good for him. After everything that went down it was nice to have constant distractions which could keep him occupied. Whether it was tying up the incoming boats or simply getting the guests sorted his mind mostly Ramsay free. Any shadow could have been him and despite seeing him being torn apart he still felt he would be coming to get him. He wished that Robb was here to punch him in the face like he had the first time

"You doing so well Theon. I'm glad your back. It's been to bloody quiet without you." Yara could say form the bottom of her heart that she missed her brother greatly. He was a goof but he made her laugh and he enjoyed her company as she didn't sugar coat anything and spoke the honest truth most of the time.

A clock rang out to let them know it had just gone lunch time and that they'd best be getting back to work."I suppose I better get back to work. I'll see you in a bit baby brother." Theon was left all alone at the front desk. He was happy to continue sorting out papers and making sure everything was in its proper place. That was when the door slammed open and a group of clearly very drunk people barged in.

"LITTLE THEON!"

Theon shook for a moment but then saw it wasn't Ramsay but rather his uncle Euron. He hadn't seen him in ages and he was just as creepy as the last time he saw him. One of his eyes were bandaged with an eye patch which had the family kraken on it. His clothes were a lot fancier then he was expecting and something seemed to be up. A hand had placed on Theon's shoulder before he could protest. 

"How long has it been? I was looking for Yara but I suppose since your back you'll do." Euron laughed heartily while making Theon very uncomfortable in the process. Theon kept a false face on and delt with him the way most normal way he could muster. "What do you want?" Theon didn't want to have to deal with his uncle for many good reasons but he supposed the most obvious one was he was totally bat shit insane,

"I want to go out on my boat! With my lads." He motioned his hand towards his group of men and Theon couldn't help but notice the uncanny resemblance to Ramsay and his band of bastard boys. His heart was palpitating but he was keep calm enough. He thought he was handling the situation pretty well. Euron had ruffled his hair and he was putting it back into place in order to look somewhat presentable. 

"You have to pay if you want to go out." Theon surprised himself with how confident his voice actually sounded it almost made him crack a smile.

"I don't think I do. I'm family." He placed a finger on Theon's nose and booped him with a extremely weird playfulness which made every chill go down his spine.

Euron was crossing so many boundaries he wanted him to leave now. He wanted to punch Euron in the face over and over just to make him shut the hell up. 

"Please leave. Yara doesn't want you here."

Yara had filled him in on the gross details of what went down between Euron, Balon and herself. Theon didn't want to be involved within this but he guessed that he didn't have a choice now. The family blood was so dirty it was practically black. 

"What did you grow a pair and finally decide to fight back? Oh that's right. You don't have one."

Theon was beginning to lose his composure. None of the men there expected him to say something like that but they knew better then to call him out on it so they laughed along with him. Theon began to try and form a sentence to counteract the vile statement but Euron was quick to the draw.

"Then again I doubted you fought against Ramsay much. I heard you and him had a very erotic relationship." The words rolled of his tongue and he watched as his nephews eyes began to glaze over and his breaths beginning to quicken. Theon had to place a hand onto the desk to keep him from falling onto the ground.

Theon was losing it and the sweat was beginning to roll down his forehead as he didn't get fully formed flashback but rather choice snippets of various times Ramsay was using sexual torture as a way to break Theon then just for his own pleasure. Then the Catelyn memory came back and he was gone.

All of them looked on as he let out the ugliest sob and covered his mouth to stop himself letting out anymore.

Euron began to continue the verbal attack while one or two of the other guys pitched in while the other three just stood there wanting to tell him to stop but being too scared to do anything.

Yara was walking by when she looked through the glass and saw Theon clearly going into his dark place while her uncle and his men seemed to be laughing at his pain, a couple of them looking very uncomfortable about it. She barged in and knocked at least two of the guys out of the way.

"WHAT IN THE SEVEN HELLS IS GOING ON HERE?!" She demanded to know getting everyone's attention including those bystanders who weren't involved in this at all. She could tell really well what the bloody hell was going on but she needed to say something to get him to stop. Theon looked like he was going to collapse while muttering Ramsay's name over and over, Euron was laughing at his panic like a mad man.

Euron scoffed and told her his version of what happened. "I just came in and wanted to chat to Theon about getting my Silence out for the day."

She tried to put a comforting arm around him but he pushed her away and tried to hide himself away from the world. Yara was glaring daggers at him and was tempted to pull out her actual dagger she kept on her person at all times. Instead so grabbed his arm and pushed him to the ground. "Oh fuck off Euron! Come on Theon let's get you into the back."

When Yara did get him out of the publics sight he had seemed to stop hyperventilating but he was still muttering words under his breath. Yara didn't know what the hell to do so she pulled out her phone and called upon and expert in this matter.

Thing at the police department had gotten back to normal. About as normal as they got.

Currently their biggest threat was the night king but it seemed as though the higher up were more concerned with other problems. In fact Jon seemed to be the only person truly concerned with it, as well as all of the free folk who had seen the terror of the night king of course.

Jon and the others were joking about and Robb was joining in with them. Of course his mind was not focused on the jokes and puns as it was still focused on Theon and his wondering how he was doing and if he was getting along okay.

All of a sudden his phone started to buzz and he excused himself from the rest of the group to go take it. When he saw the caller ID as Squid- soon to be- sister in law he knew something went down. Whether it was bad or good he didn't know but he assumed it was going to be leaning more on the negative side of things.

"Robb…Could you maybe swing by if you get a moment?" He was right. It seemed to be bad news. There was something going on. He could sense the urgency within Yara's voice and there was only one reason she would show an emotion other than flirting and determination and that was her little brother.

"What's happened?" Robb asked with a slight exasperation which got the attention of anyone who knew him. He subconsciously began to bite his nail in case it was something serious but he didn't think it would be.

"Our idiot uncle caused Theon to have a panic attack and he briefly said he needed you. Are you able to make it or not?" She didn't have time to discuss the details. She should have known herself not to let Theon come back so soon but her mind was so caught up in the excitement of getting her brother back she didn't stop to think if it was a good idea with everything that happened including that disaster that was the court house incident.

Robb had a pretty clean kill list since his sister had done him the kind favour of bumping Ramsay Bolton of the face of the planet. Now he had the feel he was going to have to expand with the name of Euron. Arya had showed him how to make a kill list so it shouldn't be too hard. He hoped that his little sister had been joking and wasn't actually going to kill any of those people.

"Yeah sure I'll be there in a second." Robb ran a hand through his hair and get himself mentally ready for seeing his loved one panicked.

He could hear the relief in Yara's voice when she thanked him over and over for agreeing to come down. "Thank you."

The police room went dead when he walked back in, he was the centre of their attention as all of them knew if he got a call it could be from Theon in distress. All of them could see him looking annoyed so they knew he would have to go.

"Sorry guys. Something happened at the boat shop." He didn't have the time nor the energy to explain everything so his sentence sounded rushed.

"It's ok. We've got this under control." Jon assured him and the others nodding in agreement of their boss. Even Ygritte.

Robb felt relieved that they were capable of doing this on their own. "Cheers." Robb said as his swiftly put on his jacket and headed out. Robb had been promoted to their boss and everyone knew that it was the right call. He was the hardest working and strategical of them all and by god did he deserve it after all he had been through and all the hard work that had gone into everything he did.

When he came into the boat shop there was a sign on the door that read as "Out to lunch. Back at 12:15". He went in regardless and checked about for the door which had the sign of break room on it. He hadn't been to the shop much before but he had a vague knowledge of where everything was. And then of course there was common sense.

Eventually he was able to come to a door which had a small yellow kraken sticker and the words **Staff**. He knocked and heard Yara say a faint come in along with a small don't coming from his beloved.

The two were both sat down by a small break room table with old coffee stains and it was old enough that if you were to rub your hand across it you would get at least 3 splinters. When he did come in he saw that Yara had a wet cloth pressed to his forehead while he just seemed embarrassed but he was also trying to stop himself from crying any more then he already had. Also on the table lay an insane amount of used tissues, Robb tried to ignore them and assumed anyone but he would deal with it.

"I'm going out to get more water. Robb, do your thing." She didn't know what he did that made Theon so calm but she supposed him being there as emotional support was simply just enough.

"I'm fine Robb. Really. Yara shouldn't have called you." He said throwing the dabbing towel onto the ground with a slight bit of force. He had simply lost it there and he didn't see the need for Robb to be here. He wasn't complaining though. It was nice to have his face bring him back into reality.

"It's okay to not be fine." Robb told him. This was the words of his therapist talking. When Robb went he always said he was doing fine and he didn't need it but when he admitted he wasn't fine he felt like a heavy weight had been lifted of his shoulders. It had been a breakthrough and his depression began to get better from there. No one was allowed to tell Theon that Robb went through a depression because he didn't want Theon to feel any more guilt then he already did.

Theon knew that Robb's advice was good but he hated that he had inconvenienced him. He had disrupted his master like the stupid, worthless, whore mutt he was. 

A hiccup came up which he used to disguise his small gasp of horror. He couldn't believe that he had mentally called Robb his master. Robb was not his master in any way, shape or form but he couldn't help but have the association of people caring about him. He was living his life thinking that everyone had an ulterior motive. Everyone except maybe Robb.

He coughed and cleared his throat of any of the still wobbliness that was there from the panic attack. "It's stupid."

Robb shook his head side to say to let Theon know that it wasn't stupid. Theon's eyes wondered while Robb's remained firmly locked on him. "What happened?"

Robb was going to get an answer one way or another so Theon began from the beginning. Dr Raven had also recommended that he try being open when he experienced about something to in the future it would be easier for him to talk about his time with Ramsay a little bit easier when the time came. There was a deep breath and he began."Euron came in. He wanted to take a boat out for free. Yara was dealing with someone else so I had to deal with him and his friends. When I asked them to pay they started to say…things." Theon wasn't sure how to class all the things he said. I was some time before Yara intervened so he was able to get blow after blow in terms of dealing damage to his mind.

"Like what?" It was part of Robb's natural curiosity to pry and get more details but he still had to learn when enough was. It seemed that Theon wasn't comfortable talking about it at all but it was getting better in little bits. Robb had tried to coax him into saying anything that happened but he'd shut down if he thought about it too much.

Yara had been kind enough to bring in a bottle of water before hand and all of a sudden Theon had become rather parched. He practically ripped the top open and would have drowned himself had Robb not told him to ease up. "Saying how I was- was weak. He asked how I was still with you."

A pause.

Theon wished that she had brought him vodka instead or perhaps something a little stronger. He hadn't drank any alcohol since Ramsay forced it down him. In Ramsay's words he said it would help make him more _fun_


	26. The Joking Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The wedding of Sansa Stark and Margaery Tyrell

It was easy to say that the wedding was one of the highlights of the year for many people. Margaery was keen to get on with it and Sansa was eager too. Now that all of the ugliness had put everything behind them and it had been going rather well in terms of everyone recovering, Theon most of all.

Currently, everyone was at the church and awaiting the arrival of the bride. Margaery was already inside, waiting at the altar along with all the friends of Sansa which meant that everyone in the seven kingdoms was crammed into the small northern style church. Theon and Robb along with the rest of the Stark Clan had been crammed into the front row and on the other side there was the Tyrell family

Theon kept on fiddling with his tie while Robb tried to get him to stop. Robb began to fix it for him much to Theon's dismay. He wanted to try and do it on his own but unfortunately, he wasn't very successful at it.

"You look fine Theon," Robb reassured him. Though this was an understatement on Robb's half. Theon looked even more stunning than usual. He was done up in a tuxedo which looked normal but had fine accents of that golden yellow and Robb could feel the pink hue that came over his face. Theon noticed as well but he couldn't figure out why and just assumed it was the humidity of the spring that was getting to him.

It had just turned to March and the spring was in full motion. Sansa's favorite time of the year as she could pick flowers in the field and get inspiration for her clothing range she was currently developing. Margaery, of course, enjoyed it as well but no one could top Sansa's love for it.

"I get enough stares at work I don't need them here too." They were currently in the pews of the church and even though Sansa had made sure they were seated in the very front Theon couldn't help but feel that people would still be staring at him from behind. People's eyes always tended to go to him and it was very likely it was because of his snow white hair. He had bought dye to try and fix it but unfortunately, the white would still come through no matter what he did.

Robb told him often enough how much it suited him but Theon felt weird knowing how he got it. Sometimes he would even get asked if he was related to the Targaryens and technically he was thanks to Yara and her civil partnership with Daenerys and their newest addition into the polyamorous relationship, Ellaria Sand.

Theon felt weird being in a church considering how he renounced all religion during his time in captivity. All the symbolism that was being shoved down his throat was making him want to vomit up whatever he had eaten in the last hour, which was nothing. If the so called gods really did love him then why did they want to make him suffer through the bastard? He supposed the words of Tywin were right, they're gods because they have no mercy.

Tywin had actually been generous enough to award Theon and Robb some money from Roose Bolton for the courthouse incident. It was a good amount but no amount of money would be able to reverse the trauma Theon's brain went through seeing Ramsay being torn to shreds by dogs. Roose was also banned from going anywhere near them but he had no reason to, in fact, rumors had it that he moved to Essos and was doing reasonably well. Robb was hoping that he would be doing something illegal so he could catch the last of the Bolton's and make sure he met the same fate as his son.

"She'll be coming down the aisle any moment now," Robb said partially looking at his watch and waiting. Theon could see Robb biting his nails. A sign he was getting anxious. Theon took Robb's hand away from his mouth and held his hand. He didn't want Robb to destroy his nails again as he had done while he was gone. Sansa had told him that at one point she had resorted to putting a nude color nail polish on him just to stop him from ruining them any more than he already had.

The music began to play and everyone arose at once. The big doors were opened and the brown, green, blue and every color of eyes all looked towards the two people who just entered the building.

Sansa was the perfect vision of beauty. Sansa had always wanted to be a princess but today she was a queen. She was dressed as white as the snow that would fall upon Winterfell every December. Her dress had been made by herself and the craftsmanship clearly showed as no one had seen anything like it. The bride was dressed in a ball gown with a puffy skirt along with a sweetheart neckline which fitted her perfectly. Naturally, it was also dripping in jewels but not too much that it seemed tacky.

Alongside her was Benjen. Since Ned obviously wasn't a viable option their uncle had been asked to walk the bride down the aisle. He was more than happy to help and said it was his privilege to help her down the aisle. Catelyn seemed pleased as well but she couldn't help the tears that went down her face seeing her brave little girl looking so stunning.

Margaery, on the other hand, had chosen a mermaid style dress and boat neckline. Flowers were everywhere of course as expected. Loras and Renly helped make it and by that, it really meant Loras did all the work while Renly was in the background casually bringing his boyfriend supplies such as fabric, pins, needles and an endless supply of herbal tea.

Margaery always seemed to have a clear head but in this moment she was unreadable. They had kept with the tradition of not seeing each other and she couldn't understand how Sansa managed to look so beautiful. As Mace would put it his daughter looked as red as a rose. He had no doubts he would be using that pun in his father of the bride speech.

Both Theon and Robb were astounded but they were proud of her. Theon was able to see her progress in terms of overcoming abuse and he wished she could be doing as well as her but what he failed to realize was that he had already come so far. His panic attacks weren't as common as they were before and while he did think of Ramsay often it didn't dominate his thoughts as they once had before. While Theon kept on looking at the two beautiful brides he couldn't seem the absolute joy Robb was experiencing seeing him so happy.

The ceremony began and it was going as well as most weddings did. Both got their vows word perfect and it was perfect in every single other aspect.

Although it was a shame that the reception wouldn't go as smoothly.

The reception was being held in the High Garden castle as it was bigger and they wouldn't have to pay for the location as Margaery technically owned it. It was literally a mess of flora and fur. Like a wolf had rolled around in a field of flowers and it somehow manifested into an after wedding party. The perfect combination of North and South.

A Norther Snowdrop meets a Southern Rose as Loras put it.

This was a very interesting scenario as it brought lots of people together who had never even talked before but it made for surprisingly good combos. For example, the knight of flowers and the young Kraken prince were bonding over the fact that they both spent a lot of time in the hospital and briefly touching upon their torture. They didn't go in depth of course but they did share some interesting techniques on how to remain calm. And of course, they competitively talked about who had the better boyfriend (Obviously Theon knew Robb was best but he let Loras believe whatever he wanted).

Everyone was having a good time and then the speeches came up. That went it went a little pear shaped for the young Kraken.

The reception was going on and it was pretty smooth. The brides had been seated at the front and it was time for the best man speech. Or in this case the best grandmother speech. It was Olenna Tyrell's time to speak so everyone had a box of tissues ready for how much they were going to be crying with laughter.

She came up to the microphone and tapped it once to make sure it was in proper working condition. She didn't want anyone to miss her comedic gold. "I know some of the people today and I have one thing to say to the lot of you. You're all a bunch of cunts."

Sandor Clegane, Sansa's long-time friend, couldn't contain his howling at the swearing old woman. He was making a scene and everyone rolled their eyes at him. He was acting like an idiot as he often did normally. Nobody liked Sandor but they put up with him because he was funny.

"I must say when I saw Sansa the first time I thought here comes another dumb red headed, horribly dolled up little girl with no sense of fashion was coming to snatch up my daughter. I was wrong. Sansa is a lovely seamstress." She said poking fun at her granddaughter in law. They all knew it was in good taste and even Sansa seemed to laugh at it.

"So a Tyrell marrying a Stark, it's uncommon but it's bound to be better than the last time a Stark married. I'm looking at you Aegon number 2." Another round of laughter and it even managed to get a chuckle from Theon. Jon rolling his eyes but in the pretend fed up kind of way.

"Speak of terrible marriages Cersei Lannister is here!" Cersei just looked on towards all of them and took another sip of her non-alcoholic wine alternative because she didn't want to risk the smallest Lannister being born with a defect. She was scathing but kept silent.

Everyone has a chuckle.

"Cersei Lannister has some balls coming here today but then again I suppose she has more balls than dear old Theon over there."

Robb who had been drinking at the time nearly dropped his champagne glass when he heard it. He took so long looking at Olenna he didn't get the chance to look at how Theonw as reacting to it.

Olenna had overstepped a line. Theon was clearly offended by the remark but everyone around him was laughing at it. Their laughter was like the sound a car makes when it's being compacted into a metal cube. It was like all of the laughter was morphing into Ramsay's sickly cackle. He could feel himself dropping the fork he had been holding. Did they not understand how painful that had been for him?

Margaery was laughing but when Sansa placed her hand firmly on the table she could see that Olenna had gone way too far with that remark. The daggers that Sansa was glaring at her could have killed and had it not been for her talents at talking there may have been a fight.

"Well grandmother all of us here love your banter but unfortunately I think you've had too much of this lovely fine wine. Everyone give it up for my grandmother Olenna Tyrell." She led on and the room erupted in applause while trying to maintain her signature smile still feeling like Sansa was going to kill the old woman.

While the applause began to die Theon made his way out of the room and since he knew the place well before Ramsay he was able to find a place that was totally isolated.

The Stark siblings looked to each other and Robb made the silent decision to go on his own and that the rest should stay and enjoy the party.

Robb followed in pursuit but he slowed down when he heard Theon muttering to himself. It was soon accompanied by a very loud breaking sound. It wasn't the sound of glass breaking and it wasn't the sound of ceramic but more a crunchy type sound soon followed by the sound of things dropping to the floor at the same time

Underneath the small whisper, he was able to cherry pick a couple of choice phrases from the muttering. Including a small sob which Theon clearly let out then acted like it didn't just happen.

He made himself known to the Greyjoy and before when he turned around he saw Theon scratching at his own arm. When Theon heard breathing he stopped immediately and rolled down his sleeve. Robb wouldn't push him any further on this matter until he was ready to talk further.

Robb looked to the side and as he deduced he saw a sizeable dent in the wear, poorly done plaster wall. It was a good thing no one had been around of they might have lost the deposit on the wedding venue. Luckily it seemed that he could easily cover it up. It seemed that all the Starks were getting good at covering things up. Theon noticed and all the anger he had melted away into a simple smile.

Theon gently grazed two of his fingers over his freshly grazed knuckles. It was quite impressive how high his tolerance for pain had become ever since being flayed while still conscious. The thing was he hadn't actually noticed it had begun to bruise until he caught his lover's eyes looking down at it with his gorgeous sympathetic eyes.

Theon initiated a hug and held the Stark close while he sorted through his feelings while having Robb there acting as an anchor to keep him grounded in the real world and prevent him slipping back into the past.

When it was done they heard the very significant sound of a pair of high heels approaching. Robb knew it couldn't have been Sansa as he had gone dress shopping with her and he could recollect the sound of her heels instantly. Clothes shopping for Robb was a quick nip down to the local shop and then seeing what t shirt and jeans would be the cheapest. Theon would be the one to pick out nice things for him so during his absence Sansa had tried her best to help him look presentable.

He was right in that it wasn't Sansa but the other bride of the day. The High Garden rose herself. She had been biting her lip as she walked and only let it go when she found the two in the small desolate hallway. She wondered if she had walked in onto something private by the expression of their faces

"Theon I apologize for my grandmother's comment. We had scripted the first half then she began to improvise." Margaery didn't even know how to begin in apologizing for that controversial comment. Olenna would not be so apologetic and would more than likely just hurt him more than she originally had if Margaery asked her to apologize so she decided to do the task herself and save everyone the trouble.

Theon looked over to Robb who was placed firmly by his side and close enough to hear what he was going to say next. He hoped that Robb would just let it slide instead of looking at it further. A small chill came over him and he rubbed his neck careful to avoid the scar that the dog collar had left in it. Ramsay didn't grasp that Theon needed to breathe so he always put it onto the tightest setting that he could.

"It's okay really. I'm used to comments like that." Unintentionally his voice wavered when he said it. He rubbed his throat but both other parties had picked up on it.

Robb was shocked, mainly because Theon had told him nothing of this sort. A sudden sharpness overcame his voice and he may have unintentionally snapped at him. "What? How are you used to comments like that?"

He wasn't going to lie. He was hurt that Theon had mentioned none of this to him sooner but he wouldn't apply pressure because he wouldn't want to force anything out of him. Thankfully the gods decided to favor him and Theon explained it himself instead of it being forced out of him.

"Sometimes at work people who recognize me like to make jokes about my...castration. It's fine."

Why would people be as cruel as to make dick jokes knowing the trauma he suffered? People could be cruel in this area but he expected them to have a little bit of human decency. He should have known scum wouldn't be capable of that. Words would defiantly be spoken later to Yara about this and how they could future prevent this but he had a gut feeling it would still happen regardless.

Theon always saw the sentiment but he had become somewhat of a pessimist and the idea of being able to stop it sounded very unrealistic to him. He had a pretty good idea of how people worked and he realized there were always going to be those who found it hilarious because of his circumstances but as long as people like Robb were about then it wouldn't be as bad.

Theon gave a smile, which thankfully had been fixed at the dentist and he gave Robb a token of affection for being the sweetest, most wonderful and kindest human being in the entire world. "No, it's not fine. You should let me take their names then I could bring them in on something."

"Thank you but you don't need to bring them to court. It's a sweet thought."

"Still…" Robb grumbled while Theon fumbled around with his collar in order to get comfortable enough to breathe. Robb smirked at him and eventually ended up fixing it for him.

A cough was heard and both of them remembered that in fact, this whole time there had been another person who had been there, more than likely looking on in a sheer confusion.

Margaery looked around awkwardly. She had been there the entire time and she wasn't too sure what to make off it, she didn't really have any input. She wasn't too sure whether she should get involved in this or not.

Sansa came over with her glowing style and she seemed almost panicked and saw the three of them each with negative faces and she was not having that on her wedding day. Margaery knew the look of her newly pronounced wife and her smile was on faster than a raven flying from Dragonstone to East Watch.

"Turn those frowns upside down!" She said rather more as a demand sugar coated in her flowery language. They all complied immediately. She knew that they were still talking about Olenna and what she had said but that he been a bit ago and she just wanted them to get on with it and enjoy the rest of their party. She understood Theon not being there and he could take as long as he wanted but she wasn't spending another moment away from her flower.

"Yes, of course, dearest wife." Margaery had been with Sansa for a hell of a lot of years but still managed to somehow to put butterflies in her stomach and a pure smile on her face.

"Come back. After Arya is done with her speech they'll be bringing out the cake. I heard that Loras has something special planned." The knowledge of what her brother was doing was a complete mystery to her and she was as eager as ever because she knew it would be simply exquisite because Loras was known for his perfection in everything he did. Renly also knew this because he would boast how he was in a relationship with the best Tyrell. Obviously, that award would now go to Sansa Stark.

"We'll be in now." Margaery gave her a small peck on the cheek and took her hand as they both came out to the main room once again and everyone gave them an applause. Theon looked in but he didn't think he was ready to go back in just yet.

After the both of them left hand in hand it was just the two of them alone once again. When this situation happened Theon would get a well-meaning but repetitive speech from him and he felt like he could predict the exact words that were going to come out of his mouth. Theon was going to say that it was going to be about how he didn't like secrets being kept from him or something along those lines.

"You can talk to me about stuff that's bothering you."

There it was.

Theon let out a long sigh. "I know. I just thought it would be stupid, it's insignificant."

Theon seriously annoyed him with how much he cared. He didn't want to burden him with problems and while Robb enjoyed not knowing about them he enjoyed knowing that Theon was unhappy a lot more so he could fix it and then finally both of them could enjoy life as much as they could. "You're not stupid and it's not insignificant because it's bothering you. I love you."

The way Robb was able to care so much dumbfounded him. It almost seemed like his heart was like a plant which was photosynthesizing. Only instead of absorbing sunlight, it was Theon's emotional baggage and instead of produced oxygen, it produced warmth and love.

"I know. I love you too." He pressed his forehead against Robb's and they reconciled over the little incident. If only they had done this months ago.

They had stayed away from the party long enough and if Sansa had been right the cake would be coming out soon and Robb would never forgive himself if missed it. "We should probably get heading back inside."

Theon agreed and they re-entered the room much to Catelyn's delight. She guessed what went down and was glad to see the both of them looking happy once more. They came in just in time it seemed just as the white wedding cake was being rolled out. The brides had taken their places at the main table and were watching in awe at the creation.

Everyone in the room had to give credit to Loras Tyrell because without him the wedding truly would have been a dull affair without him.

Everyone was able to get a slice.

"Open wide," Robb said as moved the piece of cake towards Theon's mouth.

"Ehhhhh…" Theon looked uncertain. The last time someone had said those words were Ramsay and it definitely wasn't sweet what came next.

Robb saw Theon's hand beginning to slightly claw at the fancy table cloth. Theon hated how everything just reminded him of his time with Ramsay. It could have been the stupidest little thing but it would just bring everything back.

"It's just cake." Robb didn't want to think about what Theon could be associating it with but he wanted to get him away from that thought as soon as possible. Theon came around pretty quickly and let Robb doing the adorable things couples do while shoving cake playfully into the others mouth. He nearly choked but it would have been okay because of how good it was.

The cake had three tiers each one a different flavor. The top tier was lemon specifically for Sansa, the middle was dark chocolate temptation for Margaery and the bottom tier was for the general people which was flavored with plain vanilla. It was a whole fest and needless to say no one would be leaving hungry or skinny.

"You're a dork. An adorable dork." Theon said wiping the crumbs from his mouth. He had chosen a chocolate slice. He would never take it for granted ever again. They laughed and that was pretty much how the rest of the reception went. Them laughing and having a good time with everyone else.

The rest of the wedding continued without a hitch. In fact, this would turn out to be the best night of Theon's life.

It was coming close to midnight and the majority of the people had left the reception apart from the eager party people and those closest to Sansa who wanted to see the couple off onto their honeymoon. Robb had wanted to do a traditional bedding ceremony but for whatever reason, the two of them had decided to go to Essos instead. It was apparently a hell of a lot warmer according to Sansa.

"Why don't we get married? I mean we were planning it." Theon could hardly remember most things but for some reason, the planning of the wedding stuck clearly in his mind. The suits and Catelyn nagging at him how he should begin to take her advice.

Robb just kept on getting happier and happier but this was truly thing that made his smile beam the widest. He had been waiting to ask for the longest time but he never knew if Theon was going to be ready or not. He knew he should stop being so condescending to Theon since he was showing progress. It was just he was so used to seeing fresh traumatized victims but he had never really seen much of the recovery progress. This was a mine field and he was stepping into uncharted territory.

"My goodness, where do we even start?" He was getting flustered as there was so much to consider. The venue.

Theon put his hand above Robb's heart and got him to stop panicking.

"How about you start by kissing me passionately?" Theon was digging up his flirty side which Robb had previously said to be one of the cutest parts about him. Theon felt he was being awkward when he said it but when Robb put a hand on his back he got a strong feeling that everything was going to be okay.

"I like that sound of that." Robb started of gentle but pure Stark instinct soon took over and it had divulged into a full on make out session. Theon was used to the roughness but something about the way Robb did it let him know there was something entirely different from the way Ramsay would have done it. Thankfully Theon was at the stage in the relationship where he knew to no longer associate the memories of the past with the present day. Naturally, flashbacks would still occur but they were less frequent and only came up if he was severely triggered.

Robb got down on one knee as he had done long ago but still managed to bring forth the same feeling of butterflies, love and overwhelming sensation that came with the proposal. Both had butterflies in their stomachs both of them feeling such a safe warmth in each other's presence.

"Will you marry me Theon Greyjoy?" Robb pulled out an imaginary ring from his pocket and presenting it as though it was there in actuality.

"Of course I'll marry you Robb Stark."

Theon produced a small gold ring from his pocket. It was clearly a fake from the looks of it but it could have been made out of cardboard and it still would have made Robb the happiest man breathing. Robb took it in his coarse hand and felt it see what it was. To his curiosity it turned out to be a plastic ring with a small made in China print on it and a couple of small black hearts had been etched into it. Crudely, he might add.

"Where did you-?" "Shireen and Rickon were making jewelry for the wedding and wanted me to propose to you."

Robb made a mental note to get Rickon the biggest teddy bear that he could find and also get Shireen anything she desired. Theon was only just able to contain his happiness but as soon as Robb placed the ring on his finger he grabbed his beloved and embraced him fully. Both could feel the happy tears running down each other's face and making it slightly moist.

Theon had come a very long way from being normally happy to his lowest point in his entire life to becoming the happiest man in all of Westeros. It was a strong range of emotions but he was glad that this was where he was now. He always said that his time with Ramsay was the worst days of his life and Robb would always respond with how it could only get better from there on in.

Robb lifted all of Theon and did a small twirl with him like in those cheesy romantic movie endings. The both of them were giggling like children and they didn't care who saw them. It was getting late and they could let the others wait a little bit longer. They were having a moment and they didn't want to lose it now.

They rested outside on the porch of the reception and Theon was wearing Robb's jacket. Theon's head placed perfectly upon Robb's broad shoulder as they had a perfect view of the sky. It was the time of the day where the sky exploded with shades of yellow and orange which slowly began to fade into the midnight purple. If they looked hard enough they could see the stars.

"Should we tell the rest of them?" Theon asked looking forward, somehow both metaphorically and literally.

Robb pondered it for a moment then turned to look inside at the wedding party that was still raging on inside.

"Not yet. We don't want to take away from Sansa's big day." Robb turned his head to see his little sister happily dancing the night away with her new bride and not only single care in the world. It was hard to think that this was the person who had so callously ended the life of another human being. He smiled at her happiness.

"I love you Robb Stark."

"I love you too Theon Greyjoy- Stark."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna be wrapping this up in two chapters but don't worry. I have more Theon stories planned for the future. One big one and a couple of one shot stories.


	27. The Wedding Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Wedding of Robb Stark and Theon Greyjoy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fluffffffff. I hope you enjoy guys! 
> 
> (If there's anything you think I left out let me know.)

The bells of a Sept normally only rang out for the truest form of horror in the Seven Kingdoms. Funerals, the death of someone important and most importantly it rang out for weddings. God did weddings mean awful things, the most horrible thing most people in King's Landing could imagine. Why do you ask? Because it meant that lots of civilians always got caught in the crossfire.

Thankfully the wedding of Robb Stark and Theon Greyjoy was going to be a happy time for everyone.

It was a beautiful day to be having a wedding. The supposed gods had even shown their blessing for the day and let the clouds disappear into nothing and the sun shone its bright, warming rays. Theon always had a tendency to go for the cold winter as it suited him better but he loved this sunny weather even more. Of course, that was below the depth of his nerves.

Speaking of the Young Wolf, Theon hadn't been allowed to see Robb all morning and he had no idea how much his anxiety levels had spiked a little bit but not so much that he was physically showing signs of his panic. Thankfully they decided his hands should be gloved so his hands were spared from any further chewing. Sansa was giving him the eyes and he stopped it and instead projected his nervousness through his words.

Throughout the year it seemed to have a filter over it that made everything seem a little bit gray. It had gradually been gaining its color back but today was the days that the colors seemed all the more vibrant. All the whites colors of the church really seemed to pop out and even the gray colors of House Stark seemed to fit in well.

A year had fully gone by in what seemed like no time at all. They had told every one of their engagement a full month after the "Sansaery" wedding as it had been dubbed by friends and family. Everyone had been overjoyed at the news, especially Yara and Catelyn. Everything was working out for once in their lives.

Speaking of work Theon had gone back full time to work with Yara and the business was thriving with life. Since some of Euron's boats got destroyed in a freak fire incident they were the most popular boat rental place and since it was the summer people came from far and wide to get the smell of the sea and have the hot winds on their faces as they drifted on the open ocean feeling like the ruler of the whole world. While the business went up something went down, that being a number of putrid mutilation jokes. Theon thought it was just time that caused it to decrease but what he didn't know was that his fiancé and sister had worked out how to stop people from doing it. Permanently. He never knew and it was going to stay that way if it could be helped.

At the present time, it was Sansa, Yara, and Theon in the part of the church just before you entered the main part. Sansa was in a beautiful bridesmaid dress while Yara had decided to wear a tuxedo, in fact, it was a matching Tuxedo with the handcrafted dresses Daenerys and Ellaria had decided to show off. They were doing well in their poly relationship but unlike most people, they weren't going to indulge in a wedding day. They'd rather save their money for something more important, like buying Dany pet food or getting Elleria's daughter a new shade of lipstick for her birthday.

"So are you nervous?" Sansa asked to break the silence that had slightly formed. Theon answered her by pulling at the collar of his slightly disheveled shirt to give her his answer.

Yara was in the background and she rolled her eyes at the question of the younger female wolf. Of course, her brother was going to nervous but he was been brave so far so a wedding was going to be a walk in the park. Then again Yara wasn't exactly one for properly committing so the idea of being tied down would scare her too.

"I mean I am a little. Wouldn't you be?" Theon said as he Sansa in the eyes, briefly forgetting that she too had been in his position a couple of months ago. He realized his error and was going to apologize at least twenty times over but not before Sansa stopped him to give him some wisdom of her own.

"I was fine. You'll be too." Sansa said as he turned to pace again like he was on repeat.

Yara, having had enough of seeing him a nervous wreck before now decided to inject some of her loving sisterly advice into the current situation at hand. Both Sansa and Theon were startled at how quickly she was up on her feet. She reminded them of that one trainer that everyone knew who was what most people would consider extra.

"Stop being a pussy! If you can get through working at the bloody boat shop you can do this!" As normal she said it with a vigorous smirk and a hearty laugh. Yara was going to make a joke about surviving Ramsay but then she thought it might be in the best interest of everyone not to bring it up on what was meant to be a happy day.

Theon smiled at his sister's reassurance and his mind made the connection that everything was going to be well for once in his life. Then again Robb had been doing this as well but he always needed to strive for Yara's approval and knowing he had it gave him a good boost to his mind.

All three heads were turned towards the door as they heard a muffled organ beginning to play the wedding theme. Theon remained still at the prospect of doing it until Yara made one last check over to make sure he was looking as good as he could be. He took one last deep breath before taking the deep plunge into his final stages of commitment with Robb.

He went in and all eyes were on him for real this time instead of the last time when he simply imagined it. This time around they didn't seem just as threating and friendlier. Everyone was happy so he supposed he was happy as well. Genuine happiness this time to keep in mind. Sometimes he would fake it for the people so they would leave him alone this time there was no need to put on a façade for he was the happiest he could be.

At the end, he saw his one and only. His heart skipped a beat when he saw Robb there looking at him and looking his finest. A clean shave and it was clear his hair had been groomed as well, the Snow standing beside him looking equally as good.

If it hadn't been for Yara and him locking elbows he would have been stopped in his tracks. Robb was an Athenian god. No, he was a muse. Theon was trying to think of a single clichéd word that could do it justice but he didn't think that he could. Of course, the waterworks would have to come from Theon on this day but he didn't expect them to come as early as they did. If hiding emotion was an art form then Theon was a Picasso. He let his happiness show but not the tears. They could come later.

Theon couldn't stop his smiling from beaming out of his mouth and showing off his fully new couple of teeth that had been implanted by the wonderful dentist. They looked close enough to the original and even were a little bit whiter than they were before, probably from Theon's chain-smoking in his rough teen years. He had given up that habit but the effects were lasting

Yara had to admit that when she saw her baby brother looking so happy so felt a genuine relief in her heart. She knew that Robb would never betray her baby brother so he could live like this for the rest of his life and she was more than happy with that. If he did, however, Robb would get what Yara had dubbed the "Drowned God treatment".

Yara left her baby brother go and he was left by Robb's side as they looked towards the priest. Neither of them may have been looking at him but that's not where their focus was. Their focus was on each other and small side glances they gave to each other. It was subtle so no one realized they weren't listening to a word of what the priest was saying.

Theon thankfully was able to hear when it was Robb's turn to speak and signaled that he should begin to say his vows.

"You've been in my life for as long as I can remember and I want to keep it that way. You've brought me so much joy I don't even know how to repay you. I promise that from now on I will always try to protect you day and night, even after death. You are my mighty Kraken and I love you. Now and Always."

"You're one of the best consistent parts of my life and you've been there for the highest highs and the lowest lows. I know you'll be there for my past, present, and future. I've lived through the worst part of my life without you and I never want to be without you again. I promise I will be by your side and love you until my days are up. You are my strong wolf and I love you. Now and always."

It was a good assumption to say that there wasn't a single dry eye in the room. It was so beautiful and meaningful from the both of them. True words are spoken from the bottom of the heart and it seemed like that everything bad that happened in the past was non-existent.

"You may kiss the Groom." The priest said closing the book of the seven and swiftly pronouncing them husband and husband. Theon didn't even wait for him to finish before grabbing Robb and bringing him in the final ceremonious kiss. There was an eruption of cheering from everyone and streamers went flying along with the releasing of several white butterflies to most people's surprise. No one could see who had released them but everyone could hazard a guess it was the kids doing.

More kissing ensued, almost to a point that it seemed a bit excessive but they knew when to stop and when to walk down the aisle to the meet and greet everyone with congratulations. Theon could see people leaving already and while he found it a bit odd he dismissed it and went back to being happy with his new husband.

It was odd he could finally call him husband despite so long having to call him fiancé. They had finally sealed the deal and a new chapter in their lives was about to begin. A new game with a fairer set of rules.

Theon was talking with a couple of Robb work friends who were giving him the obligatory don't hurt him talk when Robb came up from behind and grasped him gently, planting smooches on his face. "So Mr. Stark-Greyjoy, How about we get heading to the reception, my mother said she had something special planned."

"Something special?" Theon asked. "Well, it's going to have to be something really good to be able to top this special moment right now," Theon said as he turned around so that he and Robb could have good look at each other. Robb having no stress but still some wrinkles under his eyes and Theon's eyes glowing brightly but still looking a little bit off, a complete contrast to where they had been a year or two ago but still some remembrance of everything that happened.

And so they were outside but before they could get to the reception with everyone else it seemed that the photographer was more than eager to keep them there and while this did seem odd it was all part of Catelyn's plan to make them the happiest couple on earth.

After a total hour of getting their wedding pictures done Theon and Robb wanted nothing more than to get to their own wedding reception, kick back and have a good time with their mates and family. That was not what they got, however. When Theon and Robb went to the reception area it was totally desolate. They knew something was up but they remained silent. The eeriness of it all was giving Theon small flashbacks but nothing enough to bring on a full panic attack.

The first clue was that no one's car was parked in the allocated spot. The second clue they found was when they went in and no one was around apart from the friendly staff who seemed to be wearing all smiles. Third and finally was when they went into the main area and they saw no decoration apart from the main table having a floral display and lots of white flowery things around it.

After checking it out Robb noticed the main clue which would ultimately lead them to their happiness. "There's something on the table. Where we would be sitting." Robb pointed out with his keen detective eye. Theon noticed it too but didn't want to say anything because he was afraid of being wrong. He could picture how Robb would tell him it's okay to be wrong sometimes.

On a decorative envelope in the middle it had in the most over the top exquisite calligraphy had written on it Mr. and Mr. Stark. Robb was the first to approach and carefully pick it up. Theon's mind was going to some very dark places in terms of assumption but kept a relatively cool head. The rip of the envelope was deafening against the silence of the room.

"Anyway, what is Catelyn's wedding gift?" Theon asked wondering what the hell could have been so mysterious that it caused Robb to look utterly confused.

He held it up to the light and he only got more confused.

"It's a key?" Robb wasn't sure at first because it seemed so random but he confirmed it was after a couple of seconds. Theon took it from him and he then took a good look at it just in case his love happened to be confused.

"A key for what?" Theon seemed confused by the gift as well. He was a little bit sharper then Robb was so he had a couple of ideas of what it could have been but he didn't want to say anything in case he accidentally spoiled what it was

"Wait there's also a map. What is your mum planning?" Theon asked Robb as he took a further examination of the map. There had been a location marked in blue with a big circle around it. The map placement said it was just outside of town but not too far away from it.

It was turning dark in the evening and soon they were driving along in the evening with the street lights burning like small balls of light against the sky that had been dyed red. Theon had grown accustomed to always looking out the window because it was a constant reminder that he was free from everything of the past and could finally move on to the future.

The silence was pleasant between him both of them because they could both enjoy each other without having to kill the mood.

"Oh my god Robb. It's a house! It's a fucking house." Theon said as he saw around the corner and instead of being some random gift it was a living place that they had never seen before in their lives.

The house was obviously meant for them as they had a banner on it which read congratulations along with both of their sigils and house colors decorating it. In the front in the small rustic style garden, there were pillars with small flowers on them and gray ribbon between them. Theon dropped the map fully and gave a small wave to them not processing how he should react to the situation at hand.

"No fucking way!" Robb said as he was finally able to lay his own eyes on it and not on the road. He pulled up in an obviously marked parking space and they got the full view. It was easy to say it was the best of what they both wanted. Robb got the closeness to his family while Theon got his small isolated away from people feel from it.

They locked up the car and inspected the outside. It was perfect for the both of them as it was like someone had taken both of their ideal homes and merged it into two which both of them could agree on. There was also a nice touch of ivy that grew all over the side of the house and made it seem all that more homely.

The house also had the advantage of being a hell of a lot bigger than the apartment. All that was left to see was the inside. What lay on the inside was a mystery to the both of them but now that they were bound they felt they could face the tallest of mountains and the hardest of challenges together.

Robb and Theon both took the edge of the key and ceremoniously pushed it in together. They turned it until they were able to hear the click sound come from the lock. Robb was the one who pushed the door while Theon was the one to take the first steps.

It was very dark in the house and needless to say they were as blind as Arya had been for the one period of time. Before Robb could say one word there was an explosion of bright white light, golden colored confetti, and loud banging. Both of them felt like they were in a busy nightclub with blaring lights and gunshots going off all around them, just like in that one scene in John Wick.

Two different reactions but the same outcome. Robb let out a small sharp gasp while Theon held his breath, holding back a loud scream. There was still a mild association with being smacked around like a scrawny whore by their purple fur wearing pimp, however, this was getting smaller each day.

It was a small group of family and friends who had launched the surprise attack on them. When they got over the initial shock they took the moment to look around the room and how lavishly it had been furnished but it wasn't too fancy for either of them. It was exactly the mixture of both their styles. Sea meeting wolf.

Catelyn being the mother of the groom came up and engulfed both in one of her famous big hugs. She was so proud of her son and she was so happy that they both were loving the gift that had been chosen by all of them.

The biggest question on his mind was how they had been able to put all of this together. "How did you guys do this?"

"We all pitched in a little bit and also Jamie Lannister owed us a favor so it is mostly paid off and you two would pay off the rest," Catelyn told them making sure to add on the extra part at the end to let them know even though other people helped they would have to do the last small bit themselves. Cat being a mother once again.

"Thank you," Robb said hugging his mother while Theon looked around with a sort of glazed look in his eyes.

Yara was the one to come up to him first. She knew that words were pointless now so she just gave him the physical support he needed and she, of course, was the one to hand him a small tissue when he eventually started to have the smallest happiness tears. She always kept them close when Theon was close.

"Thank you, everyone." Theon tried to say not letting himself get too choked up about it. Things had gotten so good and Theon still didn't feel he deserved it but he couldn't deny his happiness along longer than he already had. It was such a pure sensation that nothing could top.

All 46 of the glasses in the room were toasted to the grooms and a hip, hip hooray was yelled loudly for all to hear, Robb kissing Theon once more in response. Another round of thunderous applause. Everything was perfect. They had said it lots of time before but this was the most perfect that it would get.

The music had been playing and celebrations had taken their fullest form. The Starks as northerners were loud but the iron born managed to outdo them by a long shot. Let's just say that lights were broken and fires were lit but apart from that it was a pretty boring affair to them, much like the Dothraki.

Then the Alcohol got involved. Alcohol was a strange substance for most men as it completely altered their perceptions of reality and gave them the courage they never knew existed. The thing was that most people in the room were able to handle it rather well. In fact, the only ones who weren't drinking were the children and those who wanted to stay sober for the ride home.

Theon happened to be perfectly balanced between being drunk and total sobriety.

It was during the toast, after a couple of glasses had been downed that Theon realized this and while he and Robb were taking a drink of champagne flavored beer he took a huge gulp and wiped away any icy cold excess he may have had on his upper lip. "Robb...I know after everything that happened. I'm past it. I know I'll always have it be a part of me, I know that but it doesn't have to be who I am."

There had been a glass he was holding in his hand but it was now on the floor having fallen swiftly from his hand due to shock. The eldest Stark child thought that this type of joyful fate only happened in movies and in sappy romance novels. It was all he had wanted and he got it. To see Theon Greyjoy smiling again. This was the day that just kept getting better and better.

Theon took his hand and grabbed it so lightly but with so much support and sincerity in it as well.

The loud music that had been blaring throughout all of this finally died and they were not left with a quieter. The large mountain of a man who was working with the soundboard and music software took a bow and addressed the dancers who were still on the floor despite probably having blistered feet and sweaty formal outfits.

"Hodor." He said taking a bow and leaving the stage to a good applause.

"Thank you DJ Hodor but now it's time for the couple's slow dance. Come on up Mr. and Mr. Stark." The main DJ announced for everyone to hear. Theon was adamant about going for several reasons but as soon as Robb gave him the look he was gone and ready to do anything for him.

Robb took Theon to the dance floor which in reality was a part in the spacious back garden which had been transformed specifically for the wedding. Theon hadn't really done any form of dancing since the Dreadfort. Of course, Ramsay would drag him around when music was on but that didn't really count in his eyes. When Ramsay forced him to dance it was a game where his feet were freshly cut and he'd have to do it on something unbearable.

A hand gently cupped around Theon's waist and likewise with Robb's. Anxiety about messing it up was crawling all over Theon's thoughts. Robb kissed him again and the anxiety evaporated into nothing. Robb always acted like a good thick security blanket

Music filled the hallways and everyone began to dance with their significant other, Jon with Ygritte and Yara with her small harem. Along with the other, they began to dance the dance to the slow but heartfelt song. Theon had trouble due to his legs being weak but he wouldn't let that stop him, not today. His legs had always been giving him problems and his doctors assured him they could give him medication to ease his everyday pain but it would always remain there. It didn't hurt when he was doing normal things like walking or getting up but when he was doing something that made him think about it that was when it got really painful.

Slow and steady was how Robb was taking it. Over time he had become a master at picking up on his lovers' non-verbal commands, noticing how each unique look meant something different. For example, if his eyes were cast down along with his teeth being bared slightly then it meant that he was feeling body conscious and if he kept his body turned to Robb it meant that he didn't want to have any bodily contact with him. Theon very much appreciated how much he did for him.

They twirled and Theon was able to avoid the pain in his leg for a time.

The song ended and each silently agreed it would probably be for the best if he were to sit out the rest of the night.

It was clear that this was just a small party but everyone important was there. All the photographers, police friends and any of Catelyn's friends from city hall who were important. Even Jamie and Tyrion were allowed to visit but not for too long. Cersei wasn't allowed within a hundred meter radius of the place which was fine because in her own words she didn't want to visit some stupid Stark party hosted by the ravenous wolves anyway.

As the evening drew on and more people came and went everyone had lined up at the snack table because there was an abundance of mini party foods. Most weddings would have quail eggs and Parma ham and other fancy dishes but since this was Robb and Theon nothing fancy as needed. The majority was small sandwiches, some mutton, and stew along with some seafood for the iron born men who were inevitably going to get laid that night.

As Davos would say it would put a hole in their chain mail.

In terms of where Theon was located near food currently, he was over at the small cocktail sausages. He had tried to tell them not to do them as one of his bad memories related to a cruel trick he had played with a sausage and the only reason he was near them was to get some small salmon bites. As he picked up a couple of the pink party snack he heard an unfamiliar voice call out his name. The voice was definitely feminine sounding so he had his tension decrease by about 87 %.

"Hello, are you Theon Greyjoy?" The woman asked from behind him. Theon's now recovered body turned around to see who it was. Theon was approached by a woman who was clearly some sort of reporter. He assumed this from the glasses, currently flipped open notebook and pen in hand that she was on her way over to ask him about something.

She was a little awkward and seemed to act exactly how Theon would expect. During his time in the hospital, he hadn't exactly had the best experience with reporters so this was either going to be a delight or a nightmare. Luckily it seemed she was coming over with a smile. "I was originally here just to report the wedding for the local newspaper but…well I just wanted to talk to you about something I think will interest you greatly and it will help with paying off for the rest of the house."

Theon began to listen with eager ears and soon agreed to what she had to say. When she was done explain and proved that she was being genuine he seemed to agree and then signaled his new husband over to where they were.

"Robb, come over here a second. I think you'll want to listen to this."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The epilogue of the Iron Chain Game


	28. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end of the game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh wow. The final chapter. I just really want to thank you every single person for the kudos, comments and general support left me over the course of the seven months of writing. I don't know what else to say except THANK YOU ALL!

Much like Ramsay Bolton had been doing six feet under at the moment the trees had begun to decay in the autumn wind. Their leaves had turned that caramel color and the main sound of the outdoors was that one of crunching footsteps everywhere someone went.

Robb was coming back to his quiet little house with two cups of coffee in hand just because of how cold it was getting. While Theon was used to all types of weather Robb was not so well adjusted and even the slightest bit of cold could send him spiraling into several layers of blankets and their bedroom floor covered with mugs of herbal tea and bitter black coffee. Mostly coffee though because his police officer body had been trained to cope with it.

As he walked in the first thing his eye was drawn to the bundle of blankets on the sofa and the body it was wrapped around. The natural state of Theon Greyjoy.

"Hey, Theon sweetie I'm back."

"Hiya baby. How was work?" Theon asked as he got up from his perching spot so that he could give Robb all the love and affection. It was ritualist at this point for them.

"It was fine. Just doing as normal." Robb said.

"Very good. I have the kettle boiled ready for you lo- Oh you brought some home." He pointed over to the still streaming brew and Robb was grateful for the gesture but looked down at the store-bought brand. Theon was able to hear the car coming up so he knew what he had to do.

He handed Theon the coffee cup anyway and he nearly choked on how quickly he swallowed it. He lapped it up like a wild animal and Robb intervened before an accident occurred.

"Easy there! You'll get it all over the laptop."

Before Theon spoke again he had gulped down a good half of the bitter liquid and used his tongue to wipe away the small layer of coffee creamer that remained on his lip. "When this is done we'll be able to afford a new one." His hand gestured down to the computer screen and saw how full each page was with complex linguistic techniques Robb didn't even want to try to understand.

Theon began to type some more and Robb sat by and watched him as he worked. He seemed to really enjoy what he was doing which was making Robb relatively happy too. He wished he could spend less time on the computer and more time just chilling with him.

"What chapter are you working on?" Robb asked as he tried to get a sneak peek at his husband's words.

Theon was quick to cover the screen with whatever page was on the coffee table in front of him.

"I'm writing the part where the most handsome hero in all the seven kingdoms saved the poor little servant boy." Theon said as his fingers continued to work their magic on the keyboard, making wonderful sentences which turned into paragraphs and eventually a best seller. Or at least that was the way Robb saw it. Speaking of Robb and the book during several chapters he had highlighted Robb as being his main source of hope. Even when he thought he had been betrayed he still held onto the previous love Robb had given him or he might have perished into permanent insanity.

To people who didn't know them personally it may have seemed a bit stalker-ish. And the publication required Theon to write how he first met the Bolton which in turn meant revealing the fight between him and Robb. It was terrible to even think that some people could assume that Robb was an abuser because of it.

The Stark tried to get a sneak peek but Theon moved him away from the led screen putting a hand to his face. Noticing how the finger was badly marked.

The scars were fading. As expected there were a few tough ones that would refuse to go down and Theon begged Robb for anything that could help get rid of them. Unfortunately, when they asked about getting him a skin graph over then the waiting list was an impossible wait time so it was not to be.

That reporter who had talked to Theon at the end of the reception was actually a reporter who happened to also work with an agency that was rather well known for doing biographic stories that they thought people would want to read.

Theon Greyjoy-Stark happened to be one of those people. And he was ideal as well. There had been major coverage but very little information was exposed to the public about the drama with the Bolton so they were desperate to be the first people to get the full exclusive on what went down on 42 Dreadfort lane for a year.

Theon was originally unsure at first. While the idea of talking about it with people he trusted was perfectly within his limits but to share his story with the public was on an entirely different level. He was conflicted for many nights over what to do but eventually, he decided that the positives of doing it outweighed the negatives and it would do a lot of good, especially in terms of helping him share.

It would have been out sooner but the publicists had been busy with other projects and it had taken him that long to get around to it. Better late than never.

He made Robb swear one thing. He was never to pick up a copy. He was not to look at a single word that was written on any of the pages for his ghostwriter was going into details which Theon didn't think his husband would be able to handle. And naturally, there were a couple of details which he had yet to tell Robb. He felt an immense amount of guilt that he hadn't been able to tell him but some things were easier said to strangers than to one the one he loved.

Robb was annoyed but he knew that he couldn't but in the end, he found it for the best.

On the kitchen counter where he chucked his keys he noticed a plastic box with a yellow stick note on it. As he approached he saw that it was the best food in the world. His mum's homemade cookies.

Things were going well for Catelyn and she ended up just doing her job as normal and everything was okay. There had once been a time that she visited Roose in prison frequently because she wanted to understand why the Bolton would allow such horrific things to happen to Theon but he just met her with an equally horrific smirk and telling her how little he had cared for her entire family.

She had fully accepted Theon and she even sometimes would bring over some baked goods for him to eat. Theon was meant to share with Robb but normally it would end up being that he'd just eat majority and make more to replace Catelyn's cookies. They used the same recipe so it was okay. Robb probably would have seen this as a manipulation but Theon's sense of morality had been so removed he didn't really see it that way.

Speaking of the Bolton father, Roose was imprisoned as soon as evidence from previous came back to haunt him. Apparently he was currently in isolation for stabbing another inmate in the chest with a small plastic blade. The other unfortunate person had the pleasure of experience a slow death with a slash to the throat which would take 10 minutes to fully bleed out. Roose knew these things.

Theon, like many things, was unaware of it. Though he was told he wasn't sure if he should tell him. He should be able to trust him but he seemed to be doing so well now and didn't want to spoil it

"You look well today," Robb commented.

"Thank you. I was able to get a shower." Theon said. Theon wouldn't consider himself ugly but he was aware of that nagging voice in the back of his head telling him otherwise. Robb was helping to silence that voice in his own little way. Robb was the one who would have to rise early for work shifts so Theon would be alone until he woke up about half an hour later. In this time Robb would write him a small note and leave it in small places he knew Theon would be able to see it. Sometimes the mirror, sometimes the bedside table and most times it was on the fridge door.

The note written in just about legible cursive writing was always what Jon would refer to as the moist mushy, lovey-dovey nonsense a person could put to paper.

Robb was walking up the stairs to put his coat away and go change into some comfy clothes for snuggling when something on the sofa beside Theon was just out of the corner of his ever observant eyes.

"Is that Squishy out?" The toy only came out for two reasons and it was always the first one. That being Theon's mind needed to be brought back down from spiking panic.

Robb's eyes had just caught a glance at the small golden colored squid made of plush and sewed up with Yara's sisterly love. It had definitely seen its years of wear and tear but other than that it was still holding up. A bit like Theon in a way.

"I….Had a small panic attack. I was able to handle it. Grey wind was there too." Theon said taking the empty cup and taking a pretend sip from it.

For the years Grey Wind had carried on as everything as normal. It took a couple of weeks before he would even come close to the Greyjoy because he smelt of Kyra, Myranda and all the rest of Ramsay's dogs. Sadly all of Ramsay's dogs had to be put down after tearing out their master's throat. In Theon's humble opinion the dogs should have been given awards for their bravery but he knew how well they were trained and he doubted any person willing to adopt would be able to control them.

It was a shame really. Good dogs who had a bad master.

Back to the matter of the toy. Theon didn't want to admit that he still cuddled his baby toy when he got panicked. Robb had mentioned on multiple occasions that this was okay but he refused to listen. Robb had an inkling that if he heard a fellow Iron Born saying it was okay (more specifically Yara) then he would be more comfortable about it but then again Yara being herself probably would call him weak for relying on it instead of Robb.

Theon took the toy and threw it away over to the box where they kept all the miscellaneous items such as coats, umbrellas and old photo frames that they no longer had any room for. Robb, not caring that Theon didn't want it, got it and placed it by Theon's side.

"What happened?"

It was pointless to try and keep it one way or another Robb was going to eventually find out.

"I was watching a bit of TV and then that medieval programme came on, the one with the politics and dragons and sex. I was watching a random episode but I forgot that one character gets tortured. I-I-I saw a finger being flayed."

Apparently, Jon and Ygritte were good fans of the show and they had mentioned in all graphic details all the torture, sexual violence and of course the magic that surrounded it. He tried to watch it in yearlong Theon's absence and he was only able to watch up to season 2 before that night at the Dreadfort happened.

"Oh babe I'm sorry." Robb could only be sorry. There was nothing else he could do. The worst thing about PTSD was that there was no one specific trigger and anything could set it off. In this case, it just happened to be the finger flaying.

There was a deep sigh and he wiped away the emotion and put on his smile. "Nah I'm good. Now on with this."

Theon had changed the subject far too quickly and Robb would have preferred it if he talked a little more about his feelings but there were days he would and days he wouldn't. It all depended on his mood. Recovery had gone swimmingly for Theon and his life was pretty good. Theon's smile was non-stop and it always made Robb feel so warm seeing it again. Even some of his personality emerged when he would lightly taunting Jon about whatever ridiculous clothes he was wearing.

That didn't mean he was completely cured of Ramsay's poison, however. Panic attacks were as rare as a unicorn but it didn't mean it wasn't impossible. Only in truly distressing moments would he fully break. Some morning Robb would wake up alone in bead while Theon was outside on a small bench in their nice little garden trying to get fresh air from whatever his mind decided to bring up in his dreams. The cool air blowing away whatever heated memories were filling up his mind.

Before anything else happened Theon would lighten the mood with some casual banter.

"How's Jon doing?" Theon asked as he finished up a sentence about the cold winters spent in nothing but rags. He just decided to correlate the two and asked about Robb's technical cousin.

"He's good. Ygritte is still in the hospital. Who even carries a bow and arrow around?" Robb asked rhetorically.

"Ollie apparently," Theon added on sarcastically.

Ygritte while on the job had been shot in the back with an arrow during an attack on the station by a gang known as the traitors. Jon, of course, had been stabbed by them before but this attack on Ygritte had made his vendetta very, very personal. Her heartbeat was steady and she was talking just fine but the doctors wanted her to be careful with anything she did in case she was to re-open the wound.

Ygritte was a strong one however and she wasn't going to let a simple arrow to the body stop her. She even had Jon feeling guilty while she said about why her handsome knight didn't save her. Naturally, she was joking but Jon was so serious at moments that he, of course, accepted it as her being genuinely serious. It wasn't until she was straddled on his lap and giving him kisses all over his face.

They had both visited and while Robb had offered his support Theon had offered some very awkwardly specific advice to her which she took on board but felt kind of sad he knew the exact pain she was feeling. Every detail of how to avoid feeling pain and how to fake a smile.

"I hear she'll be fine," Robb said doing his normal little routine when he got home. On a normal day, he'd get home see how Theon was doing, chill with him for a bit then do any work he would have to do, later on, get some of his husbands wonderfully delicious cooking and then they'd curl up for the rest of the night and watch trashy tv.

He also was at the hospital for a second reason. Sansa and Margaery were currently in the process of having their first child and they were in as well just to get the ultrasound done to make sure everything was okay in Margaery's womb. They decided that biologically it would be a Tyrell but in spirit, it would be a good mix of the both of them.

"Good. I always hated that hospital. The nurses were the worst. They'd bring that disgusting grub they'd call food." Theon could physically gag at remembering the hospital food. The worst part was what he had felt during the time of consuming it. He felt as though it had been the best food he had ever eaten in his entire life and that was because Ramsay gave him nothing.

"Yeah. Now I cook for you."

"Yeah but not very well."

In captivity Theon had actually become a very skilled chef, well he had to considering if he didn't he'd lose a random body part. And since getting back he'd taken it up as a regular hobby. It was strangely therapeutic and something he enjoyed. Everyone loved it and they weren't just telling him that to seem polite. Sansa loved his lemon cakes and Yara would kill a fully grown man just for his version of calamari.

"They even had sex in the hospital room."

"Robb, that's lewd!" Theon said subconsciously looking around for anyone who could have heard. He then remembered it was their own house and no one else was here. Embarrassment rose but quickly subsided when Robb's smirk was shot his way. Then he turned pink for a different reason.

"What? We've done it a couple times when you've gone for check-ups." Robb said with his smile still plastered on his face.

Robb's face was turning a shade of pink while he thoroughly denied it trying to maintain his cool façade.

Theon and Robb's sex life had been very in the recent months and while it was an awkward topic in conversation in practice it was very, very active. During the first year, there was nothing more than a quick oral performance in the comfort of their own home and full make-out sessions on the bed (sometimes in other people's houses.)

The second year was a lot better as they moved onto consensual sex, however, all was not good in paradise. The first time they tried it Theon was good at first but something Robb did made him spiral into hysterics. Robb couldn't pinpoint what it was but he assumed that it was either him grabbing onto Theon's wrist or touching a specific part of the skin. Whatever it was it was a good while before they even attempted anything like it again.

The third year was perfectly okay for sex. Theon's therapy was ongoing and rather smoothly at that. He had learned how to calm himself enough and Ramsay was now only an afterthought that plagued him on the rarest of occasions. In fact, both of them were able to enjoy it on a regular basis but then again if the name Ramsay was brought up he'd end up hiding somewhere until he was calm enough to face the world.

After some several minutes of cheek kisses and underlying sexual tension to Robb's utter dismay, Theon's phone buzzed and he lifted up the small device and read the text he had received. Oddly enough he seemed rather pleased yet somehow stressed at the same time.

"Robb she wants to know what the book should be called," Theon said as he looked up from the phone and focused on the screen having not the foggiest notion of what to do. He was good at writing all of what actually happened but he wasn't creative about it. What happened in the process as he wrote down what happened and then it got sent to an actual paid writer for it to then be

They also needed the release date to be sometime within the next few weeks. The book was essentially ready to be sent to the printing press but they needed the finishing touches on it. And of course, the final decision on the title as currently they only had a placeholder on it. Currently, it was going to be called Mr. X: The Story of the Bolton Bastard but Theon wasn't exactly going to be comfortable with people coming up to him and constantly making him remember the name, Bolton.

"What do you think?" Theon asked again needing help. He nuzzled his head against Robb's neck and played with his hair a little bit. This was a major decision for him. It would be what people associate the book with and more importantly with him.

Theon did that cute thing where he scratched at him face when he was uncertain about something, another thing Robb could read well.

"I had an idea but it sounds weird…" Theon mentioned as he rubbed his neck nervously. He was this way because he really wanted Robb to like his idea.

Robb always tried his hardest to give Theon whatever support he needed but he was also an honest man and if he thought it wasn't right he was going, to be honest rather than lie to his face. That was exactly why Theon knew he could trust his word with whatever he told him.

"Say what it is. I'll tell you what I think."

Theon then looked around the table full of papers and then found the scruffiest looking one. It had more pen lines then an artist's masterpiece and more dog ears than the Bolton's dog kennel. Robb looked over the list and saw several potential titles scribbled out and then there was one in the biggest font having the messiest circle around it.

"I was thinking of calling it the Iron Chain Game. It sounds stupid I know." Theon spoke with a clear sense of giving up before it even began. Robb thought about it and while it didn't make sense to him personally he could see how Theon might have created it in his mind.

Robb gently smoothed over the side of Theon's cheeks and looked him dead in the eyes. Theon not looking down stared back at him with confidence.

"No I think it sounds good," Robb said as he let the name roll off his tongue once more and it sounding more right each time he said it. Theon getting praise both felt right and wrong at the same time. He enjoyed prise when it came from Robb but it still made him feel like a dog just following a command. It was one of the things no amount of therapy could cover.

With that everything having to do with Ramsay was officially done with. Theon after telling this long tale could finally leave it behind. His finger hovered over the send button for a second and without fail he pushed down. He was ready for it.

"Okay. That's it. That's the Iron Chain Game."


End file.
